


Created Life from Death

by MoonRaven1412



Category: Bleach
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Self-Insert, anime fillers may be included, characters added in the order they appear, fullbring arc very big maybe but thankfully so far away that plans might change, not time-skip stuff though, probably won't be any romance apart from canon pairs, suggestions welcome though, thus I added no warnings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-18
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2018-12-31 07:28:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 48,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12127521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonRaven1412/pseuds/MoonRaven1412
Summary: Mirai means future. And a lot of hopes were placed on her when she was created. She was one of a kind but perfectly ordinary too. Though there was one trait no one predicted she would have. Knowledge of this world when it was just a manga for her. She used to live in another world. She used to live another life. After dying she had a new chance to try again.





	1. Nakatomi Tomo

**Author's Note:**

> So... I'm posting this fic here too. And I'm currently feeling too lazy to put any more complicated author note here. I hope you enjoy this. I try to update the pre-written chapters approximately every other day because of stuff.
> 
> Just a word though. I have alternating PoVs here. Only one per chapter but different characters (both canon and original ones) get to have their shine and thus some events may be shown multiple times.

**Created Life from Death 1.  
Nakatomi Tomo**

Nakatomi Tomo wasn’t anything special in the eyes of the rest of the Division Twelve of Thirteen Imperial Divisions (or Gotei 13 like everyone called them). Really, she might’ve been pretty and attained Shikai during the last year of her Academy education and had good grasp in kidou… But she still managed to blend in and disappear in the midst of the Shinigami making up rest of the squad.

But she was alright with it. She was a solitary person in nature, being an only child and having had only few friends even in academy. Tomo rather spend her time with books and trying to figure out how things worked and how to make things better herself.

So when the Twelfth Division got Shinigami Research and Development Institute attached to them along with the induction of the new captain Urahara Kisuke, Tomo felt like her dreams had come true. Finally she could experiment and create new things as much as she wanted!

Though she could’ve done without that creepy new Third Seat Kurotsuchi Mayuri… Tomo fully agreed with Lieutenant Sarugaki Hiyori that the man had no business in their division.

* * *

 

For the next ten years or so, Tomo went on with her life. She kept tabs on the World of Living and the scientific developments there. She got along with the rest of the division and avoided the 3rd Seat as much as possible.

Then the Hollowfication Event happened. Not that Tomo knew right away what had happened. Only that the Ninth Division had run into some trouble and captain Urahara sent Lieutenant Sarugaki to take samples. Then something apparently changed as Urahara run to Captains’ Meeting to ask to be sent after her. He was apparently unsuccessful but still disappeared in the middle of the night.

And was arrested the next day.

No one knew what exactly had happened until after the ‘culprits’ of the apparent event had disappeared completely. And that included all the captains and lieutenants that went to the scene of Hollowfication. What Tomo managed to scrap together from rumors and the official statement… She didn’t know what to think of it. Apparently Urahara had been performing illegal experiments on Rukongai residents and lower ranked Shinigami and then progressed on the Captains? And that the Captains had been going with it willingly and thus were also condemned to die?

Tomo didn’t believe any of it but what she could’ve done? She was only 9th Seat of the Division and the culprits were already gone. Even the captains who could’ve and would’ve spoken up against the punishment, were too late.

It was no use. She could only hope that they were still alive.

And raid captain’s quarters for anything useful before the next captain sieged them.

* * *

It was like Tomo feared. Kurotsuchi Mayuri eventually became the captain of the Twelfth Division and Head of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute. But she had gotten her hands on everything she could from Urahara’s research and inventions that she actually could hide away. Like Reiatsu Concealing Cloak. It was incredibly useful invention that she couldn’t have falling into wrong hands. Not to mention the reiatsu samples…

Tomo returned to keeping her head down and continued crafting her kidou spells in peace and monitoring the World of Living. She had a little project going on that she wanted to keep to herself. Because even if she was solitary person, she did crave for companionship. And the way Kurotsuchi Mayuri changed the Division… Tomo didn’t like it. It was too different. She had liked the way Hikifune Kirio sailed the ship and the way Urahara Kisuke directed them but… The newest captain was bossing them around and no one dared to say edgewise. Or they’d end up as test subjects.

Tomo craved for someone to take care of, talk to and maybe even raise. She still remembered fondly her own parents even if they had long ago passed away. Yes, Tomo wanted a child of her own.

* * *

Around the time Kurotsuchi became captain, Yushima Ouko rose to be the 7th Seat and began heading the Project _Kaizou Konpaku_. Tomo wasn’t part of it. And considering that eventually the MOD-Souls were ordered to be destroyed, she was glad she wasn’t. It wasn’t right. Playing around with Souls wasn’t right. And the way their captain experimented with the Quincy souls… She shuddered at the thought.

Instead Tomo turned her attention to Project Nemuri. It also turned her stomach but the end result… A real person created using Gikon and Gigai technologies… it was fascinating. But it wasn’t what she was looking for. Tomo wasn’t sure what exactly she needed. She had an idea but…

After decades of pondering the situation, the young woman once again turned her eyes to the World of Living.

* * *

It was the year 1978. Tomo managed to snag a patrol assignment of two months for herself in the town of Karakura. She sort of felt bad to take it from Kuna who technically should’ve gotten the round but Tomo had pulled seniority card. After all she hadn’t been here since five years from her graduation. And that was hundred years ago! Kuna had already gotten her turn four decades ago.

Tomo used her time by walking around Karakura and taking care of the occasional Hollow and konsoing the poor Pluses that were still wandering about. It felt good to work together with Shinjitsu no Shinju _(Truthful Pearl)_. Being cooped up in the lab didn’t give her much chances.

But true to her nature, she never stopped looking for truth and more information. So whenever she had free time she spent it spying on human families and their forms of information collecting. Newspapers, television, magazines, radio…

Scientific magazines were the best in Tomo’s humble opinion. So were medicinal and pharmaceutical magazines. And from them, she found exactly what she’d been looking for. Of course it wouldn’t work in the same way in the Soul Society but the basic idea was there and Tomo could work from that.

Apparently two men named Robert G. Edwards and Patrick Steptoe had managed to develop a technique that allowed a baby to be conceived outside mother’s body. The human’s called it In Vitro Fertilization and the end product a ‘test tube baby’. The first successful child had been born that year and had been named Louise Brown.

Tomo read the article eagerly. The theory was sound. In Soul Society it required more than just two fertile souls to have a child. It required for those two souls to have strong reiatsu. Tomo wasn’t sure of her own reiatsu’s strength. It was possible that if she were to try the ‘normal’ method of conceiving a child, she’d forfeit her own life or even the child’s. But this idea of conceiving outside mother’s body and maybe even in this situation to have the baby develop outside of it, was probably safer. There was still some of the equipment from Project Nemuri at the labs that hadn’t been used since Nanagou had been successful.

Yes… Tomo thought she might just succeed.

* * *

The first thing Tomo did once she was back from her assignment (after stopping by the Thirteenth Division to leave her report, they still didn’t have a Lieutenant, the poor sods) was to get one of the containers used for Project Nemuri. It was a good thing that the division barracks were so vast that the Shinigami working for SRDI usually could have their own private labs. If there was one good thing from captain Kurotsuchi’s arrogance, it was the fact that he felt no need to spy on his underlings.

And because recycling of the used equipment was so common, no one batted an eye on Tomo’s actions. Or when she used her reiatsu to the sweep her lab for bugs and hidden cameras. She may not have a lot of reiatsu in comparison to some of the Shinigami but it was still enough for her to cover the two rooms that her lab comprised of. Some might call her paranoid but if she was successful, Tomo didn’t want anyone to harm her child or use what she came up with, to produce soldiers. Nemu’s indifference already frightened Tomo and she definitely didn’t want her child grow up like that mod soul.

Next the young scientist opened one of her cabinets where she had stored the reiatsu samples taken from Urahara’s laboratory. There was ten of them all together that were taken of everyone eventually exiled in the aftermath of Hollowfication. There were those of the eight captains and lieutenants, those that were infected by hollows, and two from Urahara and Tessai, the ones blamed for it. The latter two had been at the place of incident so the samples were probably taken as a precaution that they hadn’t been infected. And they hadn’t. Even after almost eight decades, the samples were pure. And since they all were taken from captain or lieutenant class officers, one sample was more than enough for Tomo’s tests. The other samples she wouldn’t touch. It would be too risky.

The woman picked up the sample from her previous captain and looked at the glowing reiatsu inside the vial.

“This might take some time but I know I’ll be successful eventually.” She set the vial on her examination table and opened her research diary.

“Day 1: I, Nakatomi Tomo, the 9th Seat of Twelfth Division, have begun a new project. I call it Project Mirai…”

* * *

It took ten years. Ten years until Tomo had finished all the preliminary tests and gathered enough of her own reiatsu to fill a vial similar to the ones containing the other samples. And also to pack it tight enough. Because just filling the vial wasn’t enough as captain class reiatsu was also thicker and denser than that of weaker Shinigami. It was why it choked and pressed down on lower seats when a captain let go of their control over reiatsu.

Ten years of work, one of them following the development of the baby girl in the glass tube situated in the inner room of Tomo’s laboratory. The front room was full of smaller inventions that the woman worked on the side. The other inventions were to make sure the people weren’t suspicious why she was cooped up in her lab more than usual but not telling what she had come up with anything. Because Shinigami or not, ten years was a long time for any invention to come into fruition especially if no status reports were made.

But Mirai, the baby girl, was healthy. She had Tomo’s complexion (too pale from being inside the lab so long) and eye shape but the same light-blonde hair than Urahara. Eye color wasn’t settled yet, but it could be either Urahara’s grey or Tomo’s almost black blue.

As Tomo held the girl, sleeping quietly, she couldn’t help but love her. Mirai was beautiful. And hers. She was healthy and could have bright future…

Tomo stopped. She remained standing in the middle of the lab, the baby in her arms, and just stared at the back wall. Despite everything, Mirai wasn’t safe. This was the twelfth division and Mirai was the result of a successful experiment. The first specimen so to say. And Tomo had used a captain’s reiatsu to create her. An _exiled_ captain’s…

The woman remembered Hiyori’s ramblings from when she and Urahara had returned from Maggot’s Nest with Kurotsuchi in tow. That people with mere potential to become a threat were sent there. Tomo also knew that Akon had been there. The boy had grown marvelously at the division but had still spent many decades in prison.

Several different thought warred in her mind. Tomo knew that Mirai wasn’t safe in Seireitei and even less in Rukongai. Test subject, prisoner or simply dead. None of them were good options.

“Don’t worry, Mirai-chan… Kaa-chan will come up with something. Kaa-chan promises…” Tomo whispered. Mirai blinked her eyes open (They were grey.) before yawning and snuggling against her shihakusho and the lab-coat thrown over it. Tomo smiled down at the girl before grimly turning towards her notes. She was running out of time. She needed to come up with something. And fast. For the sake of her daughter.


	2. Kotobuki Mirai

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello, nice to meet you. Protagonist here. Let's hope I won't have existential issues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to update a bit earlier the next chapter to kick this on properly.

**Created Life in Death 2  
Kotobuki Mirai**

Life after Death was and interesting concept. Different cultures had their own views of it and different fictional realities added their own twist to the ‘circle of life’.

Why did it matter here?

Simple.

She died, leaving her previous family and friends behind when a lighting struck her umbrella. Takeno Airi died and now apparently she had a new shot in life despite having died in such a stupid way.

Well, a new shot of life in afterlife. Who knew?

Never mind really, she could breathe again.

And maybe soon she would also see something else than mysterious blobs of color.

Yes, she knew that babies had a shitty eyesight and could properly see everything around them only after about twelve months of life… Well, she had assumed that she’d be a bit more exceptional since she did have a mind of a grown woman.

Apparently not. This body needed to grow as much as normal baby’s. Which was ironic considering that this baby body was no way normal.

At least not on the standards she was used to in her previous life.

And not really on the standards in her new life either.

Eh?

Airi’s new name was Kotobuki Mirai. She was not born to Kotobuki Kenji and Dina but called them still papa and mama. There was that other woman visiting occasionally that was Mirai’s ‘kaachan’. She was Nakatomi Tomo.

And she was a Shinigami.

Yep, that’s right. Mirai’s mother was a Soul Reaper and thus it was possible that Mirai was one too. Hmm… wonder who her father was then…

* * *

 

Airi as Mirai didn’t remember much about the first days in her new life. Just faint snippets here and there and sometimes when she felt like opening her eyes, also some colored blurbs. Nice.

But she did remember being carried on the arms of a woman and the woman soothingly whispering to her. About making sure that she, Mirai, would be safe. At the time Mirai hadn’t thought much about it. It just felt nice to be held again and nice to know that she had also in this life someone who cared for her.

Soon enough she was introduced to the Kotobuki’s, a couple who’d been trying to have a baby but were unsuccessful and were considering medicinal treatments when they’d met Tomo. Mirai had been a month old.

Or alternatively had been living outside the glass tube where she’d grown during the nine months of pregnancy, for a month already. In the tube she’d been for ten months. So did that make Mirai a month or two old? Let’s just say month. Apparently they put the 4th of May as her birthday. Midori no Hi, nice.

Anyways, Tomo had begun to explain things for the couple. Some things she’d apparently told them beforehand so they knew the basics of the Shinigami, spiritual awareness and Soul Society…

Wait, what?

Soul Society? Really? What was this? Bleach?

Yep, there was more words… Gotei 13, Twelfth Division, 9th Seat. So Tomo was a scientist and… Yeah, apparently Mirai was a test tube baby she didn’t dare to keep in Seireitei but hadn’t realized the fact until after Mirai had been fully developed. Great going kaachan…

And there was more explanations… Mirai was apparently in a gigai that would grow with her in human rate… That her reiatsu was that of normal spiritually aware human, like the Kotobuki’s, but would grow during the years. Tomo would try and visit as much as possible or otherwise keep in contact. And yes, the Kotobuki’s wanted Tomo to stay in Mirai’s life. And yes, they didn’t care that Mirai was special or might endanger them.

Nice… They were so wonderful… Mirai felt like crying.

No wait, she didn’t mean to actually cry.

Oh, there she went. This baby body reacted quite well to emotions.

And there was Kotobuki Dina holding her and rocking her and soothing her… It felt so nice. It was the best feeling in the world. The feeling of being loved.

* * *

 

Mirai was a lively child. Understandably from her own view point. Being a baby was incredibly restrictive. But also incredibly fun. Testing her limits and finding balance. Sleeping whenever she felt like. Even meal time and bath time were great. (Changing diaper was annoying and embarrassing but she could cope.)

Within a year since arriving to the Kotobuki’s Mirai could already stand on her own two feet. Walking was still a challenge without support but she could always crawl to almost wherever she wanted to go. And hide beneath furniture. That was fun and surprisingly Kenji and Dina both were good at finding her, never panicked when she vanished to next hiding place.

The little toddler babbled to her mama and papa and kaachan. She also babbled at mama and papa’s friends and neighbors. They knew that Mirai was adopted. Blonde hair color was explained away with her having a foreign father. Just as well. Airi’s mother had been European and she had grown up to be bilingual and had had European blue eyes and light brown hair. In this new life blonde hair and grey (with a hint of green) eyes weren’t that different to her.

Reincarnation was an interesting concept. Airi had read several self-insert and oc-insert fics when she was alive. They were right in the top of her favourites along with time-travel fics. Fandom didn’t matter with them.

Those fics had some common elements in them though. Some of which Mirai had dodged.

One of them was language. The main characters were quite often from Western countries so they didn’t that often know Japanese right of bat. Or then mysteriously could understand it right away. Well, as half-Japanese herself, that wasn’t a problem for Mirai as she had spoken Japanese in her everyday life.

The second was existential crisis. Some mains thought they were stealing the lives of the original person supposed to have been born to the body they were inhabiting. Cue angst and desire to prove they were worthy of this life. Or alienation from the other people of their new world. Well, no thanks. Mirai was quite happy to be alive again in her own special-made gigai, thank you very much. And she would let things progress and then see if she’d do something to help.

Third was the desire to save everyone. If this were a world like Naruto where people already lived shitty lives and villains popped out of every nook and cranny, Mirai might’ve been more worried. While Bleach was no way ‘safe’ world, it was still better. And Tomo had already ensured that Mirai was safe. She would live on and – like stated above – let things progress. Mirai wasn’t even sure where in timeline she was at. Other than it was obviously modern Japan.

* * *

 

Mirai was in Karakura. The fact she found out many months after her third birthday. While she had been outside a lot and seen places of her home town, she had never managed to spot or hear the name of the town. But it wasn’t by hearing the name that Mirai found out about it.

It was her second first Shichi-go-san Day. November 15th at the local shrine. Mirai was excited. She was dressed in a brand new kimono with a hifu(padded vest) instead of an obi keeping it together. Her hair was also put up prettily. Her blonde locks may have reached only her shoulders but were still long enough to be scooped up and held together with a hairpin that was of black lacquered wood and decorated with a cluster of autumn gingko leaves. They were beautiful almost golden yellow that complimented Mirai’s pale hair. By her temples, she also had hair pins of some tiny white flowers. Mirai liked them too. And her kimono was lovely too. Light blue with white flowers trailing the hem and sleeves. And it was nice to wear tabi-socks and a pair of zori after a while.

At the shrine there was a lot of people. Families of different sizes. Most common combination was parents and one or two children but some had several members of extended family with them. No wonder really, this was the main shrine of Katakura.

Ah yes… The reason how she figured out the place. It was the vibrant orange hair that one three year old boy had. Daylily colored actually. He was accompanied by a pregnant woman with lighter brown hair and silly and loud man.  They were talking to another family. A mother, a grandfather and a black-haired boy with a pair of glasses already perched on his nose.

 _“Oh kami…”_ Mirai thought. She could recognize them. How could she not? They had been more or less in her mind since the day she found out her kaachan was Shinigami and she was in the world of Bleach. The first family was the Kurosaki’s and apparently Masaki was already pregnant with the twins. The other was the Ishida’s. Uryuu and Souken and Katagiri Kanae, Uryuu’s mother.

It was so strange. Both boys were clinging to their mothers’ hand and were both wearing formal wear. Kanae was also in kimono while Masaki had opted for modern clothes. Isshin was in modern clothes and Souken was dressed similarly to Uryuu. Or was it the other way round in this case?

“What is it, Mirai-chan?” Dina asked. Mirai looked up at her mother before pointing at Ichigo.

_“Orenji!”_


	3. Kurosaki Masaki

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. I had my computer away...

**Created Life in Death 3  
Kurosaki Masaki**

_“Orenji!”_ She heard a little girl’s voice say and Masaki was hard pressed not to laugh. Poor Ichigo in the other seemed to cringe away and try to hide his face in her skirt. It was after the Shichi-go-san ceremony at the shrine and the families were milling about the place. Photos were being taken, families greeted each other, and children laughed and showed the paper bags inside which they had the _chitose ame_.

Masaki turned to look at the direction of the voice, finding a little blonde haired girl in light blue kimono standing with her parents. The girl’s mother was shushing her while the father laughed. Though it seemed that the mother was trying hard not to smile either. The girl just giggled, looked at Ichigo’s direction and smiled up at her mother again.

_“Demo… Kare wa kirei!”_

Ichigo blushed but smiled then. He then looked at the girl with slightly wide eyes before making up his mind about something.

“Ki-iro!” He shouted back at the girl. She whipped around to stare at him and smiled brightly.

“Kanzo-iro!” She shot back. Ichigo scrunched up his face and looked confusedly at Masaki.

“What does that mean?”

“It means daylily. That’s the shade of your hair out of many oranges.” Masaki replied to her son with a smile. “It’s very pretty.” Though it begged a question how the girl of Ichigo’s age had known the exact shade it was called.

“What about her hair?” Ichigo asked then.

“… Try Asagi. It means light yellow.”

“Asagi!” Ichigo called the girl. She burst in giggles. Her mother seemed to sigh in resignation and then the family of three made their way over to the Kurosaki’s. Kanae, Souken and little Uryuu had already left. Masaki was sad that Ryuuken had been unable to come but she could always call later.

“Hello, our children seem to have caught each other’s attention.” The girl’s mother greeted. “I’m Kotobuki Dina, this is my husband Kenji and daughter Mirai.”

“Nice to meet you.” Masaki greeted back. “I’m Kurosaki Masaki, this is my husband Isshin and son Ichigo.”

“Nice to meet you.” Kenji nodded and Isshin nodded back. From there the conversation spanned from children (Ichigo and Mirai both and yes, Masaki was expecting twins currently), to jobs (Dina worked as costume designer at local theater. That explained the girl’s knowledge of colors. Kenji in the other hand was a kendo instructor.) and to life in general in Karakura. Ichigo and Mirai just eyed each other shyly now that they were suddenly at so close proximity of each other. Both were fascinated of the exotic colors of their hair. And apparently they didn’t even try to call each other with their real names.

“Kanzo-iro!”

“Asagi!”

Eventually the families parted then, the mothers as friends and the fathers as amicable acquaintances. And who knew what the two children thought of each other. Something curious maybe? Well, at least Ichigo isn’t mad at Mirai. Even after she smacked him on the head with a fan she produced out of her sleeve.

* * *

 

The twins, Karin and Yuzu, were born in spring. The Kotobuki’s visited Masaki and the girls at the hospital. Mirai was ecstatic when she got to hold Yuzu on her arms while Ichigo held Karin. And for the first time Masaki noticed that Mirai had considerable reiatsu levels. Nowhere near Ichigo’s but still enough to see ghosts. Dina and Kenji didn’t have such levels so where did the girl get her power? Or her hair and eye color for that matter as both the parents had dark brown hair and black eyes.

Unexpectedly it was Mirai who provided her a half of the required answer as the two almost four year olds sat on Masaki’s hospital bed.

“Mama, can I write about this to kaachan?” The girl asked Dina. The woman smiled.

“I don’t see why not. I’m sure she’d like to hear about anything you encounter in your life.”

Mirai beamed.

* * *

 

The other half came, sadly, six-years later on a rainy June evening. Masaki was walking Ichigo home from karate practice. Mirai was with them as she also took the classes and Dina and Masaki took turns in getting children home. In the end both Kotobuki’s and Kurosaki’s lived in the same area of Karakura, just a few blocks away from each other.

With Ichigo at one hand and Mirai at the other one, Masaki’s attention was solely on the children and didn’t notice until too late that something had caught Ichigo’s attention. Not until he had already let go of her hand and dashed towards the river at the… bait dangled by a hollow. She vaguely heard Mirai let out a gasp but she was already moving. The girl remained standing at the walkway, watching it all happen, as Masaki reached Ichigo and threw herself on him just as the hollow struck.

Blut Vene didn’t work. Why didn’t it work?

Well, Ichigo was safe and that was important.

Masaki only hoped that the hollow wouldn’t try to attack either of the children now.

Her chain was broken. The hollow was trying to eat her. And Masaki was powerless to protect herself.

“Lecture, Shinjitsu no Shinju!” A woman spoke from nearby. Soundless steps approached through the pouring rain until the… Shinigami was right next to Masaki, cutting the hollow’s tendrils apart with… were those clock hands she had? They were golden, decorated with pearls and looked very, very sharp.

“Shinju-sou Nurimono! _(Pearly Lacquer)_ ” The woman intoned, slashing the air between her and the hollow, the minute hand at the main hear and the hour hand at the bait. The Pearls on the swords let out shiny coating that enveloped the both heads, thus blocking the hollow’s sight. The hollow – in its rage identifying itself as Grand Fisher – yelled and struggled and blindly tried to swipe at the Shinigami but the woman just dodged or cut at the offending limbs, forcing Grand Fisher to back down.

“Kaki. _(Oyster Shell)_ ” The woman said next, springing a shield with herself and the hollow on the other side and Masaki and Ichigo on the other side. Then the Shinigami moved, jumping in the air and cutting through the hollow’s mask and the coating covering it, like it was just butter. Maybe the coating was soft for the sword it came from even if it looked solid.

The hollow disintegrated and the Shinigami landed lightly on the wet grass at her side of the shield. With an absent wave of her hand, the clock hands morph into a katana with light golden hilt and perfectly round guard. She sheathed the sword and turned to Masaki, her body and Ichigo who was still lying unconscious on the ground. The shield between them has disappeared.

“Kurosaki Masaki-san?” The Shinigami asked. She had straight black hair with bangs cut to frame her face and the rest tied back on a loose ponytail that actually seemed to be slipping a bit more. Her eyes were very dark, maybe even black and her skin was pale. The darkness of the evening only heightened the monochromatic impression the woman was giving off in her black Shinigami clothes.

“Yes?” Masaki asked warily from her place where she was kneeling beside her son. She wondered how the Shinigami knew her name. Isshin hadn’t mentioned anything like this. According to him, most Shinigami thought human’s below them. Oh kami, what if she was here because of Isshin?

But before Masaki could panic anymore, the other woman spoke again, tucking her hands into the sleeves of her black kosode.

“You need to move on soon. It’s not healthy to remain here.” The woman explained. “I can konsou you but your soul chain was cut very close. You don’t have much time.”

It was a strange way the woman was speaking to her. Like Masaki should know these things. Well, she did because of what Souken and Ryuuken and later Isshin told her but this woman… She should have no reason to think that Masaki knew.

“Who are you?” Masaki frowned, wishing that she could gather reishi and form her hand-held bow(the version that she used like a handgun) in her soul-form. It’d at least make her feel safer.

The Shinigami blinked, her dark eyes widening, probably realizing her mistake in some assumptions she’d made.

“Ah… Of course you don’t know…” The woman muttered. “I’m…”

“Kaachan!” Mirai came running and threw herself to hug the woman’s waist. Despite the apparent surprise, the woman smiled brightly at the girl, detaching her and crouching down to give the ten-year-old a proper hug.

“Mirai-chan! You’ve grown so much!”

“Kaachan was awesome! Took down the mean monster before it took Kanzo-iro’s kaa-san!”

“I know… Kaachan is also happy that she got here in time and took down the hollow. It has been such a bother to Soul Society for decades!”

The… mother-daughter pair continued happy babbling. And Masaki understood. Not completely but some. Mirai was this Shinigami lady’s child, for a reason or other in the world of living. The Kotobuki’s adopted her thus explaining the lack of similar features and the difference in reiatsu levels. Now that the danger had passed and Masaki realized that the Shinigami probably wasn’t a threat to her family, she also could remember seeing the woman before. At home alter in the Kotobuki’s living room. There were many photos but there was also a black and white photo of this woman. Dark straight hair, black kimono (or kosode as only the upper part of her torso was shown) and eyes of the same shape than Mirai had. The photo had looked old next to the colored ones of Dina and Kenji’s parents so Masaki had assumed that the woman had been dead longer than they had. A great-aunt to Mirai or something.

But apparently she was Mirai’s real mother, from the afterlife. And the letters to kaachan were apparently sent by burning them at home alter. It made sense. And were probably also the reason how the woman knew Masaki just by sight.

“Masaki-san, thank you for looking after Mirai-chan when Dina-san has been unable to.” The Shinigami spoke then, startling Masaki from her thoughts and making her look up at the woman.

“It was a pleasure.” Masaki smiled. “May I ask… What is your name, Shinigami-san?”

“Nakatomi Tomo. Ninth Seat of Twelfth Division of Thirteen Imperial Divisions. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too. Umm…” She wanted to ask what the woman’s intentions towards Isshin and her family were. And her other family too as they did were Quincies.

“Don’t worry. I’m simply passing by. And I have no intention to turn Shiba-taichou over to authorities. As it were, during the investigation, they’d probably find out about Mirai-chan too.”

The said girl clutched onto her mother’s shihakusho and bit her lip until Tomo gently pried her fingers off and sat her on the ground next to Ichigo.

“Kaachan needs to go now, Mirai-chan. I need to take Masaki-san to Soul Society. And you need to stay here with Ichigo-kun.”

Masaki looked down at her son. She smoothed his hair out of his face and laid a kiss on his forehead.

“Goodbye, Ichigo. Grow up to be strong so you can protect your sisters and friends. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be waiting once you’ve lived a long and fulfilling life.”

Then she got on her feet and took the hand Tomo was offering. The other woman used her free hand to draw her sword and summon a pair of shoji-doors.

“Bye bye, kaachan! Bye bye Masaki-bachan!” Mirai waved after them. “No worries, I’ll watch after Kanzo-iro and Ukon-iro and Sumi-iro.”

* * *

 

“Say, would you mind terribly if I were to take you to the Shiba house in Rukongai? Shiba-taichou’s closest remaining relatives live there. I’m sure they’d welcome you.” Tomo asked when they walked after a black swallowtail butterfly. Jigokuchou they apparently were called.

“That sounds nice.” Masaki smiled.

“It’s settled then.”

* * *

 

Settling into life with Isshin’s niece and nephew was surprisingly easy. While as lively and even violent as Masaki’s husband, Kuukaku and Ganju both had their logical moments and were genuinely good people. They didn’t like Shinigami but their older brother Kaien had been one. Had even been a lieutenant before his death at the hands of… hollow? His own subordinate? Masaki wasn’t sure of the story and didn’t feel like prying into it too deeply. While the event had happened decades ago, time was different for souls in Soul Society and for the sibling their beloved older brother could’ve passed away just few years or even months ago.

They still welcomed Masaki into their lives and were eager to hear about Isshin’s survival and their two nieces and nephew. And threw death threats for Isshin letting them think he was dead.

Next time Masaki saw her son was way too soon but for her relief he wasn’t dead. Probably. He was on a rescue mission. And Mirai was with him along with Uryuu-kun and three of their friends. Her son had grown up to be a great protector and Masaki was proud of him.


	4. Kurosaki Ichigo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She was a dear friend. Someone to trust.

**Created Life in Death 4  
Kurosaki Ichigo**

Ichigo wasn’t sure what to make of Kotobuki Mirai. It had always been like that. Since the day he met her at his first Shichi-go-san and got named ‘daylily-colored’ to the day after his mother’s death when she dragged him to her house and showed a photo of her own mother that she told to have killed the monster and taken his mother safely to heaven… she was an enigma. Maybe a friend like Tatsuki, maybe a sister like Karin and Yuzu but older, or maybe something else entirely. But she was there and despite everything he knew about her, Mirai was still a mystery.

After meeting the girl for a first time, Ichigo only occasionally saw her at park as they went to different kindergartens and once the twins were born, Masaki was usually occupied by them with Ichigo helping.

Once elementary school began, they were both delighted to find each other from the same class and later from karate practice. And at school Mirai gained the reputation to have the ‘miracle hair’. It was because of the numerous black wigs she liked to wear, some even having full maiko-decorations and some being short cropped like boys. The thing was… apart from Ichigo and Tatsuki from dojo, no one at the new school knew about Mirai’s real hair color. And not even on P.E. lessons did the wigs fall.

Mirai loved to dress up. It was evident from her mother’s occupation at the theater and the way she always found some way to break the dress-code at school without being reprimanded. Probably possible because the wigs drew so much of the teachers’ attention.

At karate dojo Mirai didn’t wear wigs. Instead she wrapped her hair inside a colorful scarf. Ichigo didn’t understand it. He asked, once. Mirai simply smiled and explained.

“It’s like a pranking the entire Karakura.” The girl had said. “It’s fun. And when I go outside without them, it’s like no one recognizes me.”

“Do you think I should try it too?” Ichigo had asked then. Because there was some bullies that didn’t like his hair color and some teachers whispered about it when thought Ichigo couldn’t hear and then gave disapproving glances at his and his mother’s direction.

Mirai was quiet for a while and shrugged.

“In the end it’s your choice. But I doubt you could keep them on the whole day.” She smirked.

“Okay.” Ichigo shrugged back and then they were going through the karate katas. It was nice to have someone to learn with.

* * *

 

Next quirk he noticed from Mirai was when the girl picked a violin to play. She was good. Really good but usually didn’t show the full extent of her ability to adults.

“I don’t want to be pushed. I don’t want to take part in competitions. I just play for fun.” She replied when he asked her.

And Ichigo noticed that she also got frustrated easily then practicing. Like she knew how to play the song and how to make it sound right but her fingers and the arm holding the violin bow refused to cooperate.

She was really good though. And seemed to be playing only for him when they were at the park together. When her eyes closed and the music seemed to envelope them into their own private world.

Yes, they had a meeting spot. The park was close enough that they could go there on their own. They knew how to cross the road and Karakura was quite safe for children to move freely about. And it was at the secluded corner of that park where Mirai played her more difficult songs for Ichigo and where the practiced katas (Occasionally Tatsuki joined them too with the latter but not that much. She had other friends too.). Sometimes Ichigo was distracted by the ghosts wandering in the park but usually the music Mirai produced (at least during her good moods when she wasn’t messing every second note) kept him captivated.

Once a man with long blonde _flowing_ hair, stopped by and complimented Mirai’s playing. The girl blushed and stammered at the compliment. It was the first time Ichigo saw her act like it and had to admit it was cute. And nice. Like the time she said he was pretty.

Then the man left, giving a white rose to the girl and ruffling Ichigo’s hair.

But the strangest thing about him… He seemed like a ghost. But more solid than a ghost.

He made Mirai smile even if the smile was sad and that was important. (Melancholic, Ichigo learned to call the expression later.) Mirai did smile and laugh a lot but not for many. For example Ichigo’s father never managed to make her smile no matter how much Dina-basan chuckled and Kenji-jisan snorted at the same antics.

“Did you know him?” Ichigo asked when they were on their way home. Mirai was holding the rose that _wasn’t_ ghost-like.

“Hm? Bara-san you mean? Maybe from other life.” She hummed deep in her thoughts.

Ichigo didn’t press. That answer was enough.

* * *

 

Tatsuki and Mirai both stepped between him and bullies if it was too much for him. Ichigo _could_ fight back though. He just didn’t want to. When he’d talked about it to his mother, she had said that he should defend himself and fight back in order to protect. That starting fights was never an option but ending them was important.

The three of them practiced together even when it became obvious that Tatsuki’s drive and talent was way above the other two’s.

* * *

 

Then came the fateful day in June. Ichigo was nine, Mirai was ten. Masaki had come to pick them up from karate practice. It was raining but it wasn’t dampening the spirits of either of the children. At least the rain wasn’t.

“Masaki-basan? What day is it?” Mirai asked when they were pulling on their raincoats.

“Day? Why, it’s Thursday, don’t you remember? You and Ichigo have karate classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And you have your violin lessons on Fridays.” Masaki smiled as she reminded Ichigo’s… friend? Yes, he supposed she was a friend. But sometimes it felt like Mirai was _more_. Tatsuki was a friend but she wasn’t _more_.

“I mean what date is it.” Mirai replied. Was she nervous? She sounded nervous. Why?

“It’s June 17th. Now, put on a jacket and let’s go before the rain becomes any worse.”

Ichigo remembered color draining from Mirai’s face and not even the bright pink scarf managed to bring it back. He also remembered her clutching tightly onto his mother’s hand.

Afterwards it was a blur but he remembered waking up on the ground and Mirai hugging him and apologizing. And the weight of his mother’s body on his legs.

_“Don’t look. I’m sorry, I couldn’t do anything. It’s alright. She’s beyond now. She’s safe. But please don’t look. It’s not your fault. It’s mine…”_

Ichigo didn’t understand why Mirai was saying all those things. But considering the distress she was in, he thought even she didn’t even know what she was saying. It was all so very messy and strange. But he obeyed Mirai’s plea and closed his eyes again and didn’t look until the police and Dina-basan arrived.

His mother was dead. And it was his fault. But Mirai said it was hers. Why did she say so? She wasn’t the one to run towards that girl and the monster. He had to ask about it some time.

But now he wanted to go home and see his sisters.

* * *

 

Karin and Yuzu didn’t take the news of their mother’s passing well. They cried and hugged each other. They didn’t understand the concept of death but they were told that their mother was gone and they wouldn’t see her again and that was enough in their comprehension.

“The monster is dead you know…” Mirai said as they sat by the river. It was two days after the funeral. Ichigo had taken to sit at the place where he’d seen the ghost girl. The first time he’d come there, Tatsuki had found him. And afterwards either she or Mirai came to keep him company.

“How?” Ichigo asked dully, staring into the deep waters.

“Kaachan killed it. Then she took your mother’s ghost to the other side. I saw it all.”

“Dina-basan did?” Ichigo frowned.

“No. Dina is my mama but I got kaachan too. She is a special ghost that helps other ghosts. I can show you.” The blonde girl got on her feet and dusted her pants. Ground was still wet from the rain of the previous days.

Ichigo stared at the hand Mirai offered him but allowed her to pull him up on his feet. She held onto his hand the entire way her home.

“Tadaima!” Mirai called from the door.

“Okaeri!” Dina smiled, looking up from a costume she was sewing. Ichigo stared. Why wasn’t she at the theater? And as if reading his mind, Dina answered. “We have better air conditioning here so I decided to work on these few costumes. And Kenji is at the dojo running his students to the ground so it’s more peaceful here too.”

“What about me, mama?” Mirai pouted.

“Ah, but Mirai-chan is either quiet like a little mouse or then plays so beautifully with her violin that it doesn’t bother my working at all.” Dina smiled. She had pretty smile. Not as nice as Ichigo’s mother’s in his opinion but…

“Mama? Can I tell Ichigo about kaachan?” Mirai asked then. And Ichigo was surprised to hear her using his own name and not the nickname. And vaguely Ichigo wondered who ‘kaachan’ was. He’d hear Mirai mention her only once before, at the hospital when Yuzu and Karin had been born.

“I don’t see why not. Ichigo-kun is old enough to understand your circumstances. Just ask me for clarification and think carefully what is safe to be said.”

With the permission received, Mirai lead Ichigo to the home altar behind Dina and they sat down before it. The altar had photos of both Dina’s and Kenji’s parents but separated from them…

“This is kaachan. Her name is Nakatomi Tomo. She is a special ghost who helps other ghosts and kills bad monsters like the one that attacked Masaki-basan and you. Well, really it was a bad ghost but they look monstrous so it’s easier to think of them as monsters.” Mirai explained. Ichigo looked at the black and white photo. Tomo was beautiful but apparently the only feature that she had similar to Mirai was the eyes and nose.

“What about your touchan? Is he a special ghost too?” Ichigo asked quietly. Mirai blinked at the question but shrugged.

“Maybe. I think so but I’ve never met him.”

“Are you a special ghost then?” The boy frowned.

“I don’t know. I think of myself as human. I’m alive I think.” They fell quiet again after that. Dina went to the kitchen to prepare some snacks for the children.

“Masaki-bachan said she’d wait for you once you’ve lived a long and fulfilling life.” Mirai said then. “So you better stop blaming yourself and start living.”

“Back then… why did you say it was your fault? I’m the one that went after that ghost girl.”

“Because I know she’d die that day.” Mirai smiled sadly. “I don’t know how but I knew. And when I tried to say it, to warn her, it felt like I was choking…”

Ichigo remained quiet. He didn’t understand the universal workings or the spiritual stuff Mirai was introducing him into and didn’t like the concept of Fate but he did forgive her. Anger would do nothing in this case.

“I need to start figuring out which people are ghosts and which are not.” He stated then. He couldn’t let anyone else get hurt because he was being stupid.

“And try not to talk to the ghosts when in public since not all people can see them.” Mirai added.

Silence stretched again.

“Don’t worry. Kaachan made sure Masaki-bachan made it safely to the afterlife.”

“Why couldn’t she wait?”

“Because of the chain. All ghosts have chains in their chest after they die. They are usually attached to the places where they died or a memorial or something similar. But eventually the chain starts to eat itself away. The eating speed depends on the length of the chain and the emotional trauma the soul went through.”

“What happens when the chain’s not there anymore?”

“They become bad ghosts full of angry emotions and start eating other ghost and even living humans. That’s why special ghosts come to get the ghosts to the afterlife. So they won’t hurt anyone. And Masaki-bachan’s chain was cut really close so they were in hurry.” Mirai told him.

Ichigo mulled over the information but accepted it then. He was a smart boy, he did understand. He didn’t like it but he understood. And that was better than nothing.

* * *

 

Ichigo and Mirai played their Dead-or-Alive game whenever possible but always with hushed whispers. It’s their secret. Dina and Kenji knew of it as they both could see ghosts when they put special glasses on their nose (Tomo’s inventions) but Isshin wasn’t told. His ridiculous behavior and recently acquired notion of _training_ Ichigo put off both of the children. So they didn’t tell.

A year after Masaki’s death, they roped Karin and Yuzu into the game too. The two girls made a good team and the game was good practice for them in the future. With Yuzu stopping Karin from greeting a ghost in public and Karin ‘translating’ for Yuzu when needed. (Sometimes the ghost had good stories to tell and could give directions to one place or another.)

Ichigo still went to dojo but only once a week. Instead he rather sparred with Mirai and Tatsuki outside of it. Or went to Kotobuki’s were Kenji taught him to cook with Yuzu occasionally with them, helping.

Mirai spent her time playing her violin at the park, usually at different spots form where she could be heard from but not seen. She’d improved a lot during the years and got frustrated less often. And occasionally ‘Bara-san’ joined her too. Ichigo saw him a couple of times in passing.

They also met a friend of Bara-san’s. At least Mirai said that ‘Kamenozoki’ was his friend. Him they met at Kenji’s kendo dojo. He had silvery grey hair but didn’t look that old. Kamenozoki was a good name for him in Ichigo’s opinion once he got a bit more educated in colors that Mirai used for nicknames.

Her nicknames were strange. The way they were given depended on what she thought of them. If she gave a nick-name at all. Tatsuki didn’t have a nickname and most of the adults didn’t have either. Yuzu and Karin were called respectively Ukon-iro and Sumi-iro, tumeric-colored and ink-colored. Bara-san probably got the name from the white rose he gave to Mirai. Otherwise she probably would’ve called him shironeri (unbleached silk) or something similar. Oh, and she also called Goat-face by the name Ichigo and Karin used.

* * *

 

Overall life with Mirai was strange with all her quirks and smiles and knowledge. But it was so very interesting too. She pulled him forward until he could walk on his own pace once more and stayed by his side even then.

She was family.


	5. Kotobuki Mirai II

**Created Life from Death 5  
Kotobuki Mirai**

Mirai enjoyed being mysterious and messing with people. She liked knowing more than others but withholding the information for them to figure it out on their own. But she also liked learning more from people who actually knew what they were talking about.

Thus Mirai’s favorite past aside from spending time with Ichigo, was relearning her old skills and picking up new ones. And after the shock of realizing that she was living in the Bleached world and more specifically in Karakura, theorizing about kido and zanpakuto mechanics became one of her hobbies too. Not that she could do much without first having at least some sort of grasp of them first. Memories about a manga could only take her so far without leading her completely off the course.

Knowing that she was spiritually aware thanks to her heritage, Mirai took to meditating every evening when she was supposed to be sleeping. Because it was frankly the only way she knew that didn’t include blowing herself up when trying to reach her own reiryoku reserves. And after two years of hard work, the little blonde girl finally managed to connect with the energy sleeping dormant within her. Something that Tomo noticed immediately next time she visited.

“My little genius.” The woman sighed, patting her five-year-old daughter’s hair. Mirai blinked at her, her grey eyes wide.

“Kaachan?”

“I need to give you a reiatsu suppressor sometime in the future. For now, you’ll feel just like another human with a bit higher than average reserves but as you grow up, the situation will change. You’ll need control and while learning it you need to hide your strength. Soul Society doesn’t like anomalies…”

Mirai knew that. Tomo always mentioned something of that effect whenever she visited.

“Meanwhile though…” Tomo dug around her bag she’d brought with her and drew out a folded cloth. “I’ll give you this. I’ve studied enough past decades to make myself another one.”

“What is it, kaachan?” Mirai asked. Fingering the fabric of the… cloak.

“It’s a reiatsu concealing cloak. My former captain made it a long time ago and I appropriated it from his quarters when he left.

 _“Huh? Interesting way to put it.”_ Mirai thought and spread the cloak open in front of her. “Can I try it on?”

“It might be a bit too big for Mirai-chan but I don’t see anything wrong with it either.” Tomo smiled and helped the cloak on the girl’s shoulders. The hood flopped in front of her eyes but overall the cloak was very warm and soft.

“It’s so warm.” The girl grinned. “I like it.”

There were lingering reiatsu traces inside the cloak. And once Mirai had connected with her reiryoku, sensing reiatsu had become much clearer too. Ghosts she’d already been able to see but sensing other people had been new. And this cloak… It had traces of people who’d worn it. Tomo and ‘her previous captain’ both. It made Mirai feel safe and…

 _“Both reiatsu signatures have markers similar to my own… Is it Shinigami thing or…”_   While Tomo had never told Mirai who her ‘touchan’ was, Mirai did have an educated guess because of her own looks and Tomo’s resources. But she wasn’t going to pry. She wasn’t going to ask until she was older. After all, she wasn’t supposed to know about birds and bees yet and since she had Dina and Kenji as ‘permanent parents’ none of the neighbors or kids said anything that would’ve made a child in some other situation to wonder where the other half of their genetics came from.

* * *

 

School was boring. Mind-numbing really. The only positive thing Mirai found from it all that she could shock teachers and pupils alike with the numerous wigs she’d borrowed from the theater. And that while boring, she could finish her homework in record time and then have more time for her own extracurricular activities.

It was around the time when the school started that Mirai begged her parents to buy her a violin. And that kick-started another chapter in her life.

The fact that she was only approximately seven years old in this new life of hers (she didn’t keep count on the years just like she’d stopped paying attention to her own age as Airi after she’d hit twenty) meant that people expected her to start from zero in whatever thing that she was interested in. It happened when she started karate and again when she picked up the violin. Dina and Kenji enrolled her on lessons but those could teach her only so much of the basics before she got bored.

So Mirai resulted in hiding at local park and practicing her pieces in secret. Ichigo was the only one who knew of her true skills and like a true friend, he didn’t question them.

It was at the park that she met with Otoribashi Rojuro, aka Rose of the Visored. The man was lured in both by the music and the reiatsu enhancing it. Embarrassingly enough though, the first time they actually saw each other was when Mirai’s finger’s cramped in the middle of playing Rainbow Colored Symphony and the little girl let out a litany of curses and stomped her feet, leaving a small dent shaped like her shoe on the pavement.

“Well, at least you aren’t venting your anger on your violin…” The visored had chuckled, making the girl whirl around and promptly fall on her butt. Mirai stared at the blond man in surprise and confusion but then got up and dusted her skirt.

“I wouldn’t want my parents’ money go waste.” She stated.

“Do you play here often?” Rose asked then.

“Why do you want to know?” Mirai frowned at him.

“You simply play beautifully.” The man brushed his wavy locks behind his shoulder and offered a smile to the girl. “You must have practiced hard.”

“Hai…” Yes, Mirai had practiced quite hard when she was Airi… And she still did practice a lot in order to dig out all the songs she remembered from her muscle memory since not all of them – especially the ones from some anime – were composed yet and thus she couldn’t find music sheets of them on the internet or anywhere else.

Noticing that she was uncomfortable with him, Rose merely smiled and left.

Next time they met was a week later. And the week after that. While Mirai could’ve changed her routines in order to avoid him if she really wanted to, she didn’t do so. Instead she even let Ichigo to meet the man.

“Did you know him?” Ichigo asked her after the man had given her a white rose and once again complimented her playing (Oracion from Pokemon movie this time).

Mirai thought about her answer for a moment.

“Hm? Bara-san you mean? Maybe from other life…” She simply smiled, elicting a huff from her best friend and a light punch to her arm. But Ichigo didn’t ask any more.

It took a couple of meetings – with and without Ichigo – during which occasional phrase of praise or greeting were exchanged when Rose started to bring music sheets of his own and a violin – a viola actually – with him too.

“Why did you come the first time?” Mirai asked one day. “Usually only ghosts listen.” She knew that Rose was mostly out of gigai when they met and thus felt partially like a plus soul but she was young enough to question her observations.

“You can see ghosts then?” Rose asked even if it was unnecessary.

“Kanzo-iro can too.” Mirai said instead of replying.

“I know. That day I was without gigai and he could see me…”

“So why?”

“Your music carried a strong trace of reiatsu with it. Probably what led the ‘ghosts’ here in the first place.” The former captain of the third division explained. “I’m surprised no hollows appeared here because of it…”

“Hollows? You mean the monsters and bad ghosts?” The little girl’s statement made the man whip his head at her direction from where he was tuning his viola.

“You’ve seen them?” He asked with alarm, no doubt wondering how she was still alive.

“Yup. I had a super cloak with me that made me invisible and no monsters saw me!” Mirai grinned. Rose blinked but smiled at the girl sitting on the park bench next to him. They had numerous music sheet strewn around them, some of them even on the ground, and they played a couple of notes in turn while tuning their instruments.

“Really?”

“Uh-huh…” The girl nodded.

The conversation flowed from there and somehow Rose managed to appoint himself as reiatsu control teacher for the girl which later would evolve into teaching her kidou too.

(Mirai would later teach the same exercises to Ichigo but eventually drag him to park to meet properly with Rose.)

* * *

 

Masaki’s death when Mirai was ten was… terrible. She had barely paid attention to the date when she suddenly realized the it was June and they were about to walk home from karate lessons and it was _raining_.

“Masaki-basan? What day is it?” Mirai asked, barely keeping her voice from trembling.

“Day? Why, it’s Thursday, don’t you remember? You and Ichigo have karate classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And you have your violin lessons on Fridays.” The woman smiled down at her.

“I mean, what date is it?”

“It’s June 17th. Now, put on a jacket and let’s go before the rain becomes any worse.”

Seventeenth of June? Today? Mirai opened her mouth as all color drained from her face. She closed it then. No words were coming out. She didn’t know what to say. The girl ducked her head to adjust her pick headscarf and felt her eyes burning with tears threatening to fall.

But what could she say? And even if she said something, would it help any? And if it did help, how would the timeline turn out from there on? Should she do something? Did she have a right to decide whether or not someone lived or died? Or should she just pretend that she knew nothing extra and just let things happen despite how much it would hurt Ichigo?

Mirai didn’t know. All the emotion was clogging her throat and she felt like choking. She grabbed Masaki’s hand and hold onto it tightly. She didn’t dare to look in Ichigo’s direction. Not even when he was lying on the ground with Masaki’s dead body on top of him and her last words ringing in Mirai’s ears.

“I’m sorry!” The blonde girl cried. “Don’t look. I’m sorry, I couldn’t do anything. It’s alright. She’s beyond now. She’d safe. But please don’t look. It’s not your fault. It’s mine…”

She shielded Ichigo from the rain with her own body but her tears fell on his cheeks and wet his face like she wasn’t even there. Ichigo was numb but Mirai distraught. She had managed to smile and greet her mother like nothing was wrong in seeing a hollow slay the mother of her best friend and then see her own mother to slay the hollow. And she just knew that Masaki would cry once she was at Soul Society but had acted strong in front of Ichigo and Mirai.

The only positive thing that came from that day was the fact that Grand Fisher was gone and hadn’t managed to devour Masaki.

* * *

 

Mirai explained the spiritual world to Ichigo. And eventually Tomo stopped by to meet the boy too at Kotobuki’s.

“Nice to meet you, Ichigo-kun. I’m glad that Mirai-chan has a friend like you!” Tomo had told the boy. Mirai had smiled a bit embarrassedly at the background until the woman had left.

“She’s all over me whenever she comes over.” The girl had shrugged and lifted a black garment from a hook in her room. “Do you wanna come monster watching with me? To see what the monsters really look like?”

While Tomo had told the two of them that the ‘monsters’ were actually called ‘hollows’, it was easier for the kids to think of them as simply monsters. Or bad ghosts whenever they felt more charitable towards them. But Masaki’s death was still raw and sore wound for the two of them.

“If I don’t need to go home yet… Okay.” Ichigo shrugged and ducked underneath the cloak Mirai threw over the two of them. It was big enough to cover both of them easily.

“How are things at home?”

“Yuzu wants to learn cooking and become just like okaa-san. Karin… She tries not to be burden to any of us. Otou-san is still crazy. He doesn’t seem to have any plans of reopening the clinic yet…” It was August already. Ichigo was ten too. School would continue soon. Mirai looked to the side. Katagiri Kanae would die in September.

“Does he still try to train you?” The girl asked.

“Yeah… But how can it be training if he doesn’t teach anything beforehand in order to test it later? That’s what we do at dojo.” The boy frowned. He’d been doing that a lot lately. Mirai pressed a finger between Ichigo’s brows and lifted his head up from where the boy had begun to stare at his own toes.

“Don’t frown. You’ll get permanent wrinkles.” The girl admonished him gently. “Are you going to keep going to the dojo?”

“I don’t know… If otou-san doesn’t work, wouldn’t it be better if we’d save money with me quitting karate? I can try and learn from you and Tatsuki, right?”

“If you aren’t coming to dojo, I won’t either.” Mirai said resolutely while trying to stamp down her anger towards Isshin. It was lucky that neighbors and Kenji were making food to share with the Kurosaki kids since Isshin was absolutely lousy cook and if there wasn’t that much money for food or general living.

They spend the rest of the evening sitting in a street corner underneath Mirai’s cloak and watching hollows being disposed of by the local Shinigami patroller. And while underneath it, Mirai made a resolution to make Kurosaki Isshin’s life hell without it affecting his children.

* * *

 

It was easier that she’d thought. Just a couple of ‘innocent’ yet cruel remarks occasionally like…

_“You are training Ichigo but not Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan? Why? Do you think they don’t need it because they are girls and it is boys’ job to protect them? What century were you born in again?”_

_“Leave Ichigo alone! Seriously, get a life! Oh wait… You can’t ‘cause you’d just drown it in booze.”_

_“Ichigo could’ve been seriously hurt by that! What sort of doctor are you, inflicting injuries on your own son! How the hell did you even get your credentials?!”_

In general, they were all related in Isshin hurting Ichigo with his ‘training’ and Mirai slipping a little hint that she knew that the man wasn’t all he seemed to be. Thus making the man extremely paranoid and wary of her.

The final straw (for the man at least) was when Mirai was sleeping over Kurosaki’s. There had been a series of violent break-and-enterings at Karakura. And a couple of them had been in the area where the Kurosaki’s, Arisawa’s and Kotobuki’s lived, Minamikawase. So as a precaution Kenji had given Mirai a butterfly knife and taught her how to use it. And that knife was underneath her pillow when Isshin came in the morning to wake up Ichigo with a kick in the back.

Mirai, already slowly rousing from her sleepy state, had sprung up, flicked her knife open and stabbed the man in the torso. There had been blood and yelling. Karin and Yuzu running to the room and starting crying. Ichigo staring at Mirai’s bloodied knife and her own startled expression. No apologies were said from either party and…

The girl woke from her room with a feeling that something was seriously wrong. It wasn’t until Ichigo came running to Kenji’s dojo after lunch and told her that Karin and Yuzu remembered nothing of the previous night or anything about Mirai at all.

Cold feeling flooded the girl.

“Kikashinki…” She whispered.

“A what?” Ichigo frowned.

“A memory replacer. The… special ghosts use them on humans so they forget encounters with hollows and replace them with something else, like gas explosion or arson or car accident or something. Kaachan told me about them.” The girl swallowed. She’d pushed Isshin too far and as a result he’d tried to erase her from the lives of his children. He’d realized that she knew of the spiritual world and would eventually drag Ichigo, Karin and Yuzu into it too.

“But why didn’t it work on us then?”

“Your father thinks that your reiryoku reserves are still small enough for the replacer to work. Same with me. My head feels a bit fuzzy but if I remove these reiatsu suppressors kaachan made for me, I should be fine…” Thank kami for the leather bracelets Mirai wore in her wrists. They kept her reiatsu level just below Ichigo’s (Tomo had probably gauged his reiatsu level when she’d met him) and thus she wasn’t deemed as… ‘to be disposed of’ kind of threat. The girl shuddered. She needed to be more careful.

“So this definitely proves that otou-san knows about spirit stuff even if he pretends otherwise.” Ichigo frowned, crossing his arms.

“Yeah… And knows someone with access to special ghost equipment.” Mirai added.

“…How should we go on about this?”

“Let’s… Let’s meet again. At school. There are class projects coming up soon. I heard that they are going to be done in groups of three. If we can get Tatsuki-chan as part of our group, we can work at her house. And we can still see at dojo on Thursdays. And here sometimes too. Or something…” Mirai bit her lip and wiped at her eyes. She was scared. She was scared of what a Shinigami – retired/exiled or not – would do to her. Her mother’s warnings and the reason why she was in the world of living rang in her head. Division 12, Maggots Nest or dead… And funnily enough, being dead was the option she preferred. After all…

She had been dead before she was living.

* * *

 

Ichigo ended up writing a letter to Masaki which they sent on by burning it at the local temple. Together they decided not to tell Tomo or Dina and Kenji about what had transpired. And to be more careful about displaying their knowledge about spiritual world.

“When with Shinigami, play dumb. Ask questions and repeat any ‘new’ words and terminology they give you. Shinigami like to think themselves above living humans and won’t be surprised by ‘lack of knowledge’ or understanding.” Mirai sighed. “Even kaachan is like that sometimes. She gets excited over something from world of living but ultimately thinks of living humans as fairly intelligent pets of something… Like we look at dolphins or monkeys or something…”

Mirai knew that while Tomo was her ‘kaachan’, Dina was her ‘mama’. Dina was the one that took care of her. Dina was the one that taught her to stand and walk in this new childhood. Dina was the one cleaning her messes and making sure Mirai had everything she needed.

Tomo in the other hand… Mirai wasn’t even sure that Tomo knew the proper concept of love. After all the woman’s own parents had been dead so long. Mirai was dear to the woman. But she was also an experiment. A successful one and one of a kind. And sometimes, Tomo had this look in her eyes that Mirai didn’t like. A look that went through Mirai and left nothing but her physical components and ‘ingredients’ for the woman to observe. Tomo was a scientist through and through and it showed in their every interaction. Tomo always told her to keep a low profile so she wouldn’t attract Soul Society’s attention. But the worry wasn’t about Mirai’s own well-being. It was about Mirai being taken out of Tomo’s reach.

“I need to know…” Mirai muttered, huddled under a slide in at Yumisawa Children Park. She’d had to take a bus to get safely to this part of Karakura but she needed to get out of Minamikawase. “I need to know more about touchan…”

While Mirai had a solid guess about who her father was, she needed a certainty. And just maybe she could come grips with her own existence as well.

“I’m scared… I can’t…” The girl choked and began crying. “I’m scared… I don’t want to lose Ichigo…-kun. He is my Kanzo-iro. He is my best friend… I don’t wanna lose him like Sumi-iro and Ukon-iro…”

And hadn’t that hurt. On a trip to grocery store, Mirai had briefly met with Yuzu and the five-year-old’s eyes had just slid over her, like Mirai hadn’t even been there!

_“I’m scared!”_

* * *

 

At his shop in Mitsumiya, Urahara Kisuke looked up from his current experiment and tilted his head thoughtfully.


	6. Shihoin Yoruichi

**Created Life from Death 6  
Shihoin Yoruichi**

It was like… He didn’t know what it was like. Something calling him? Something sending their emotions over to him through reiatsu? How was that possible? How very curious…

“Kisuke, what is it?” A male voice came from a black cat lounging on a nearby table on top of a stack of papers.

“Ah, Yoruichi-san… Probably nothing…” The shopkeeper and scientist was about to dismiss his weird feelings when a shudder went through his spine again and he felt the full spectrum of emotions that the mysterious being at the other end of the… ‘connection’ was feeling. Despair, fear, guilt, sadness, helplessness…

“Kisuke!” Yoruichi said in alarm when the blond man stumbled and gripped the edge of his workbench. “Are you alright?”

“I… Yes, I think so… But…” Grey eyes jumped from one item to another as he tried to sort out his thoughts and emotions both from what was obviously (or not so obviously as he had difficulties in doing so) foreign and outside influence.

“But?” The cat prompted, yellow eyes scanning the man head to toes when he drew a stool closer and slumped onto that. The two pair of eyes met and the ones peering from under a brim of a bucket hat were haunted by something Yoruichi still saw glimpses of whenever the conversation drifted to the events of 94 years ago. “Is it Hirako’s group?”

“What? No! I dismantled all my alarms, both kidou and technical ones years ago.” Urahara waved a hand. He supposed that one of his kidou alarms going off could’ve caused such reaction as this but as none were left and he knew the structure and function of the alarms he used, so he doubted that was the case. Maybe if he were tired… Yes, that must be it. “I’m just tired. I have been pulling a couple of all-nighters lately.” He grinned easily, slipping into his more carefree persona that he’d perfected during the years in exile. But Yoruichi wasn’t fooled. Of course she wasn’t, having known him so long…

“Kisuke… While you are definitely tired, whatever just happened, wasn’t _nothing_.” The cat glared at the man and jumped from on top of the paper stack onto the floor and then onto the man’s lap. “Tell me.”

“It was… I don’t know… I can’t understand how it could’ve happened.”

“Spare me the mechanics of ‘how’ and tell me the ‘what’.” Yoruichi glared at her childhood friend. The man sighed and pulled his hat to hide his eyes before lifting it up again.

“The emotions… They weren’t mine… And none of the sensors installed here detected any sort of spiritual interference happening within 300 meter radius. And if you weren’t affected it should mean that something outside of that radius somehow managed to target me even through the barriers on my shops walls but that shouldn’t be possible either…”

“You are straying into the ‘how’ area. Back to ‘what’. The emotions. Do you mean that you were feeling… artificial emotions sent onto you from some other being?”

“Not artificial… It was sudden, overwhelming but definitely genuine… despair… fear… guilt…” The grey eyes strayed to the papers on the table, not really seeing them though.

“But they weren’t exactly foreign either, were they?” Yoruichi took a shot in the dark. Because if this was a situation that her mother had once described to her… then it warranted investigation on her part.

“No, they weren’t. Yoruichi-san, do you know something?”

“Maybe. Don’t worry. Just go to sleep, Kisuke.” In a fit of tenderness, the black cat reached up and gave the man’s cheek a lick with her rough tongue and slunk out of the door then. She had a child to find.

* * *

 

_When a child cries for the first time, they reach out for the reiatsu of their parents. They seek comfort from it. And they will continue to do when they are scared or sad. With time, the children will grow up and control their own emotions better, seek independency and as such the contact lessens. But the parents will know their despair and it isn’t always blood related parents either. There are examples of children connecting more with their aunts and uncles or even mentors and nannies. It’s the person they feel safest with and who they look up to. The person that listens to them and guides them. The one that loves them back._

Yoruichi remembered her mother telling her about this when Yushiro was small. It was information that was passed down from mother to daughter and wife to husband. So it wasn’t really any wonder that Kisuke hadn’t ever heard of the… phenomena. She probably should explain it to him someday. But not now. She had a child to find. And considering the clarity of emotions that Kisuke could describe for her, this wasn’t a newborn. And most likely Kisuke didn’t know about this child, so it made her wonder what made the child to reach out to him. The ‘how’ in this case was simple.

**_Instinct_ **

It was the ‘why’ that bothered her.

The search took her a while but she wasn’t the Goddess of Flash and former commander of Onmitsukidou for nothing. In Yumisawa she found a trace of reiatsu that shared similarities with her childhood friend and promptly headed towards it. One other question was in her mind too about this all.

What was Kisuke’s child doing in a world of living? Because she – the girl crying underneath a slide in the rain – was definitely in a gigai and had suppressant bracelets in both of her wrists. The girl had been born in Soul Society… somehow since Kisuke hadn’t visited it since leaving, but was now here.

Yoruichi landed softly on the ground and made her way to the girl. Underneath the slide was a dry patch of gravel for her to sit down on and there she settled, about a meter from the girl. It took a moment for the girl to notice her and during that time the cat-woman took her chance to take a stock on the child.

Healthy tan suggesting time outside, well-kept clothes in the form of light blue jeans and dark-green hoodie, in general a good hygiene and obviously well-fed. It all only added to the mystery. Yoruichi had expected to find a half-starved kid living in the streets.

The girl looked up and the woman find herself with familiar grey eyes even if the shape was slightly different. Strands of blonde hair were peeking from underneath the black knit cap.

The girl jumped at the sight of her and promptly hit her head on the underneath the slide.

“Ow…” Tears of pain mixed with the traces of the previous ones but she didn’t continue crying. She blinked then at Yoruichi as the cat hadn’t moved at all.

“Neko-san… What are you doing here? Are you hiding from the rain too?” The girl seemed puzzled but grinned then. The smile didn’t reach her eyes. “I am hiding here. I didn’t want to be with my friends and family today. But tomorrow everything will be alright again.”

The girl continued babbling anything and everything nonsensical while the rain kept pelting everything around them.

“Girl, why were you crying?” Yoruichi finally interrupted her. The girl froze mid-sentence and turned her head around, as if looking for the speaker, before settling on her again.

“Neko-san? Did you just… speak?”

“And what if I did?” Yoruichi stretched and settled on lying on the ground. Not her preferred seat but it would do with a lack of better one.

“Then… I should ask myself why I still keep getting surprised with this world. I mean… there are invisible people with chains in their chest, white masked monsters chasing them and black-clad people slaying the monsters. So why not talking cats too? Say, are you a bakeneko?” The girl asked then.

“Maybe… what would you do if I were?”

“I’d try not to anger you.”

Interesting answer. Yoruichi blinked lazily and rested her head against her paws. Even if it was common knowledge not to anger spirits, to talk about so candidly…

“You still didn’t answer my question. Why were you crying?”

The girl fidgeted a moment and bit her lip before whispering:

“…I was scared.”

“Of… whom?” It was a shot in the dark but a girl of that age shouldn’t be that aware of keeping big secrets yet. And Yoruichi was just a cat to her. Maybe she could make the girl talk and find out more about her.

“Of people. And what they’d do if they found me…” The girl confessed. “Kaachan always says that if I keep quiet and stay with mama and papa, people won’t find me and lock me away.”

Okay… So the girl was something that Soul Society would consider ‘different’ and thus in hiding in the World of Living. That still didn’t explain Kisuke’s unknowing involvement.

“Who’s your… touchan then?”

“I don’t know.”

Really now?

“Really.” The girl agreed.

Did she say that aloud? Whoops.

“Who’s your kaachan then?”

The girl looked at the cat, considering. She swallowed and a fresh wave of tears threatened to come again.

“Nakatomi Tomo… 9th Seat of Twelfth Division of the Thirteen Imperial Divisions.” She spoke softly.

Oh… So the girl knew more about her own situation than she revealed at first. Despite dressing her knowledge in veil of innocence and obliviousness, she was a lot more aware of the state of things. Well, that eased things a lot. And her mother’s identity also opened up possibilities to figure out the connection with Kisuke.

“What has your kaachan told you about the ‘people’?”

“That they’d either kill me, lock me in Maggots Nest or stick me in a lab.” Came the prompt answer. “Out of those I’d prefer death.”

Considering what the other two options were, Yoruichi privately agreed. Of course, the cat-woman could always break out from the other two but with reiatsu restricted there, it would prove to be a challenge.

“Who are you, neko-san?” The girl asked then.

“… Just a bakeneko wandering around.” Yoruichi flicked her tail before getting on her feet and invading the girl’s lap. Her clothes were warm and dry and much preferable to the damp gravel. “I’ll borrow your lap for a while. I haven’t taken my nap yet.”

“I… see…” The girl muttered in confusion. “Okay, I’ll be your umbrella then.”

That was something that Kisuke had told her when they were younger and Yoruichi had been testing out her cat form for the first times. It would be interesting to see how many other similarities between the girl and Kisuke she’d spot.

The girl wrapped her arms around her knees again, closing up the space but still leaving enough room for Yoruichi to easily leave if she wished to do so. But the cat-woman had no intention to. At least to not yet. These days she didn’t have much to do. She couldn’t mooch off Kuukaku all the time, Kisuke was currently busy with his experiments, Tessai had his hands full with Jinta and Ururu and the Visored had cut off ties with Kisuke some decades back when the man had gotten in contact with Soul Society again. (The reason why Kisuke had removed his alarms from their warehouse as a gesture of goodwill.)

* * *

 

She must have dozed off for a moment. And so had the girl. They both jerked awake when someone shook the girl’s shoulder.

“Gah!” The girl’s head snapped up, her eyes wide. Yoruichi in the other hand tensed in preparation to anything.

“Asagi-chan, you shouldn’t sleep in a place like this.” A… familiar male voice told the girl.

“Bara-san? How did you find me?” The girl, Asagi (?), replied.

“Your friend Kanzo-iro asked me to help finding you.”

Kanzo-iro? Asagi? Bara-san? Were all those nick-names or something? Yoruichi lifted her head up and found herself staring at the former Third Division captain and her colleague, Otoribashi Rojuro who was crouched next to the slide with a large umbrella covering himself. The man seemed to double-take when he noticed her but didn’t comment on it.

“This is Neko-san. He kept me company.” Asagi explained. She was about to get up and let Yoruichi on the ground but the woman dug her claws into the sleeves of her hoodie and refused to let go.

“Is that so?” Otoribashi mused but sobered soon then. “Are you alright, Asagi-chan? Kanzo-iro told me what happened and about the kikashinki.”

Yoruichi felt the girl stiffen and was tense herself too. Kikashinki was used? Why? On whom? And… The woman remembered suddenly Kisuke mentioning that last week Isshin had asked for one a while back… Kanzo-iro… If it was an indication of hair-color like Asagi seemed to be for the girl (because really she could see any other reason for someone to be nick-named like so if one already had light yellow hair)… Kurosaki Ichigo knew the girl. And most likely knew about the spiritual world too despite Isshin’s insistence and Kisuke’s assurance otherwise.

The cat woman sat up on the girl’s arms and stared up at her.

“Girl. Was this kikashinki used on yourself by a man named Isshin?”

The girl began crying again. And with the tears she also poured out the entire story. About her mother and the experiment that created her. About living in the human world with the Kotobuki’s. About Masaki’s death and the aftermath of it. About needling Isshin and then stabbing him and then waking up at home with memories fogged up.

“And Yuzu-chan and Karin-chan don’t even remember me anymore…” The girl, Mirai as she told her name to be, wiped her eyes to her sleeve. “I’m scared. I don’t want to lose my friends… I don’t want to be alone… I just want to live and be happy. Is that too much to ask even if I’m a… I’m a _clone_ or something…” She choked out.

Oh, no wonder the girl was reaching out to Kisuke. She had _issues_. Issues with her own self-identity to be specific. And she’d been building her own image via other people, like Kisuke did at first before discovering his joy of creating and researching anything he could come up with. But Mirai had lost a portion of the people she’d considered _hers_ and was afraid to lose more of them. And if Nakatomi Tomo really visited as few times as the girl said and generally only told her horror stories about Gotei 13… Well, no wonder that Mirai’s instinct was to reach to her ‘touchan’ that she’d never even met. Not that the girl realized what she’d done. It was probably first time for her too to reach through the bond.

Otoribashi drew the girl underneath his umbrella with one arm around her shoulders and gave her a hug.

“You have every right to live your life the way you wish to, Asagi-chan.” The Visored said. “And I’m sure Kanzo-iro-kun would agree with me.”

“I _know_ but…” The girl let out a hiccup and her arm twitched under Yoruichi. The cat looked down at her perch and the general tenseness of the girl’s posture. Right, time to distract the girl and get some more answers to paint the general picture of her situation.

“Girl… When was the last time you were out of your gigai and had it go through maintenance?”

Mirai flinched, her shoulders drawn up to her ears.

“Asagi-chan… It’s alright. You can tell us.” Otoribashi spoke soothingly while rubbing circles at the girl’s back. Mirai relaxed slowly and took a deep breath.

“Kaachan visited in August and she took care of my gigai then… When I was smaller she visited more to adjust it for my growth but now she’s been visiting less. But she told me that she’d teach me to do basic maintenance on my own when I’m older.”

“And can you leave it on your own will?” Yoruichi enquired. The girl shrugged.

“I haven’t tried to because of my reiatsu suppressants. I only take them off for bath.” Mirai lifted her free arm to show one of her bracelets.

* * *

 

Otoribashi got Mirai back to Minamikawase where young Kurosaki Ichigo was waiting for them. With a cry of relief, the boy dashed to hug the girl. Yoruichi let out an indignant yowl when she was squished between the two ten-year-olds.

“A talking cat?!” Ichigo questioned Mirai who just nodded.

“Yeah. I call him Neko-san.” The girl replied. Next to them, Otoribashi was quietly laughing. Yoruichi sighed. The girl attracted weird people to her. Maybe she should keep an eye on things at this side of the city for a while…

* * *

 

Neglect… Yoruichi mused and resisted the urge to sigh. Considering what she had heard and observed during the past weeks of the home life of Mirai and Ichigo both, she concluded that Shinigami really were not equipped to raise human children.

Ichigo wasn’t sturdy or skilled enough yet to withstand Isshin’s attacks, all they did was make the boy jumpy and leave bruises that raised eyebrows among the adults at school. But since he was already declared a delinquent, none of the teachers thought to suspect abuse. Aside was a couple of encouraging words to make sure Ichigo wasn’t blaming himself for Masaki’s death (and he wasn’t thanks to Mirai) Isshin generally just ignored his son, kept doting on his daughters or kept drinking.

Mirai in the other hand… While her adoptive parents were wonderful, paying attention to her when needed and giving her space when she required it. But Nakatomi Tomo was nowhere to be seen. Yoruichi could see it affecting the girl. More than just with her gigai hindering her movements. The one day that Nakatomi visited to fix Mirai’s gigai, she just reminded the girl again to keep low profile and what could happen if she didn’t. It wasn’t parental concern. It was scientist’s possessiveness over test subjects. Even Kisuke didn’t act like that with Ururu who definitely wasn’t normal.

The girl had taken to dragging Ichigo to practice reiatsu control too. They met with Otoribashi at Tsubakidai Park in Sakurabashi. As the week and months passed, both children were showing progress. Ichigo wasn’t radiating reiatsu every-which direction but had it contained it as a large bonfire, while Mirai could hide her signature quite well even when she removed her suppressor bracelets. It had taken some cajoling from Otoribashi to get her to remove them but had eventually agreed once a kidou barrier was put up on the area they were practicing at.

That was when Yoruichi managed to get a look at the inscribes inside the bracelets. She wasn’t a scientist of kidou expert herself but even she could figure out that aside from suppressing her reiatsu, they also kept Mirai inside her gigai. The girl couldn’t be removed from it even with the help of Soul Candy or Gokon Tekko.

That was when Yoruichi decided to teach the kids to run. Otoribashi might eventually teach them kidou and she wasn’t going to interfere with that. But she would definitely teach them to get away from danger until they would fight back. And at least she would have something to do with her days other than pestering Kisuke.

* * *

 

Mirai was faster. But Ichigo was the one to use reiatsu enhance his steps first. The two children had crashed together and began promptly sparring with each other. The tousling reminded Yoruichi of the time she and Kisuke had been racing and sparring together. It was amusing to watch.

Eventually the running progressed into preliminary shunpo (Ichigo’s human body and Mirai’s gigai prevented the proper usage of shunpo but Yoruichi could work around it) and eventually game of three-way tag.

“Damn, bakeneko!” Ichigo cursed when Yoruichi used his head as a spring board and had Mirai catch her. the cat-woman laughed. She hadn’t had this much fun in such a long time. Sometimes Ichigo reacted exactly like Byakuya-bou.

“Temper, temper, Kanzo-iro!” Mirai laughed. “Your reiatsu is flaring again!”

As a retaliation, Ichigo tackled the girl to the ground again. Yoruichi swiftly escaped form being squished (again).

* * *

 

Yoruichi didn’t tell Kisuke about her recent past time activities. Honestly, she connecting the father and daughter with each other wasn’t any of her business. Besides… Mirai had somehow figured that she knew who her father was and requested her not to tell the girl.

“I want to find him on my own… With my own pace…” The blonde girl had smiled. Yoruichi had agreed, understanding the decision.

* * *

 

Of course Yoruichi wasn’t always holding lessons to the two kids. Sometimes she just watched over them. They were under her metaphorical wings and she didn’t want another kikashinki incident happen. The children were much more careful about their friendship now but not so much about their past time activities. Like when they took a large cloak that looked like suspiciously like one of Kisuke’s reiatsu concealing ones and hid under it to watch hollows and local Shinigami alike.

Speaking of kikashinki… it was interesting to note that apparently Ichigo’s sisters did remember Mirai’s adoptive parents while they had completely forgotten the girl herself. It was probably the fact that Dina brought over Kenji’s cooking every once in a while, and conversed with the neighbors whilst doing so. And they knew Arisawa’s too so maybe Isshin didn’t want to risk going too far in messing with memories.

Well, it all led to Kenji starting to teach Yuzu to cook with the help of Masaki’s recipe book. And since Yuzu had a hobby, Karin needed one too. In order to have money for that, Ichigo had quit karate completely to have Karin signed up on soccer lessons twice a week. This in turn led to Ichigo and Mirai both sparring with their friend Tatsuki regularly and both of the kids participating on kendo lessons at Kenji’s dojo. Yoruichi was both surprised and amused to find out that Muguruma Kensei was one of the sensei’s there – called Kamenozoki by the kids.

And so the December approached and Yoruichi decided to visit Kuukaku for a change. It was time to exchange gossip and catch up in general.

* * *

 

So Nakatomi Tomo’s interference in the world of living did have some perks too. She’d saved Kurosaki Masaki’s soul from being devoured by the hollow. Kisuke and Isshin both believed that Masaki was lost and the hollow still roaming Hueco Mundo.

Yoruichi leaned against the outer wall of Shiba house and contemplated whether or not to tell the two men this little tidbit of information. In one hand, it would bring relief for Isshin and ease Kisuke’s guilt once again. In the other hand, Nakatomi’s involvement would be revealed and that would send both of them panicking and eventually reveal Mirai for them too.

As much as Yoruichi loved Kisuke, in this case her loyalty went to Mirai and Ichigo. Besides they both had been Onmitsukido, Kisuke would understand. And Yoruichi had never really cared for Isshin no matter that he was Kuukaku’s relative.

Besides…

“Like hell you are telling that idiot anything!” Kuukaku groused, pouring more sake to the saucers in front of the two women on the porch. “He goes and fakes death and has a family that I only hear about when that Shinigami scientist brings his dead wife to my house! Not even you told me about it!”

Yoruichi was about to open her mouth to explain or even apologize her best female friend, but Kuukaku held up a hand.

“No. This is a Shiba clan matter. And as the acting clan head until Ichigo-kun arrives to Soul Society and is at least in his fifties, I rule that this information will not be divulged to the former head.”

Yoruichi shut her mouth with a snap and sighed. It wasn’t really a surprise that Kuukaku had declared Ichigo her heir. Ganju wasn’t suitable to lead the clan and the fireworks expert wasn’t interested in having children on her own. Not to mention that Ichigo was the closest (and oldest) blood relation to her.

“Alright… I won’t tell anything to them.” It wasn’t entirely pleasant idea but what was one more secret among everything that the cat-woman knew and kept from others.

* * *

 

When the twins were seven, Ichigo and Mirai began teaching and telling them about the spiritual world. The game Dead-or-Alive became regular past time for Yuzu and Karin. Especially when Mirai managed to recreate a pair of glasses that allowed Yuzu to see ghosts clearer out of the glasses Dina and Kenji had.

“But what if I just pretend they are not there?” Karin asked.

“Even then you need to know how to tell them apart from the living.” Mirai promptly answered. “Because purposefully ignoring a living person while they try to talk to you or otherwise get your attention, is very rude.”

“Okay… Say, how do you know all this stuff then?” the black-haired girl frowned.

“I’ve got ghost blood running through my veins and thus I know a lot of stuff that mere mortals don’t.”

“What does ‘mortal’ mean?” Yuzu asked then while looking around in the park through her new glasses.

“It means a being capable of dying. Usually used in conjunction of humans.” Ichigo answered.

“And a being not dying is called ‘immortal’.” Mirai added.

“Are ghosts immortal? If they are already dead?” Karin asked.

“No. They may live long and age slowly but they can also die again.” The older girl replied, pushing her blonde strands beneath the aqua blue scarf she was wearing again. Her gaze turned pensive for a moment before she smirked and whispered something to Ichigo who was just then drinking some green tea from a can. The boy had a spit-take and was left spluttering while the girl let out a peal of gleeful laughter.

“Not funny!”

“Yes, it is!”

Yoruichi chuckled from her perch up in the tree. She had heard very well what the girl had told her best friend.

_“Nee, how old do you think Goat-Face is?”_

* * *

 

For the children, the school year changed and Mirai soon celebrated her eleventh birthday. Otoribashi taught both of the kids the first Bakudo and Hado spells. It was slow going project, especially on Ichigo’s part. He had power, contained in a ‘waterballoon on the verge of bursting’ and that the ‘waterballoon would grow with age along with his reaitsu’ and that he needed to learn control that would ‘thicken the skin of the balloon’.

Mirai’s comparisons were interesting to say the least.

“I wonder what would happen if the balloon were to be stabbed with something sharp.” Mirai grinned then, twirling her butterfly knife in her right hand.

“You are not stabbing me with _anything_!”

With her eyes half-lidded, the girl just continued smirking at something that only she knew.


	7. Arisawa Tatsuki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Best friends forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very lazy writing author notes here. Probably because I've already written them at ff.net... But if any questions pop out, just ask. I'll answer them gladly.

**Created Life from Death 7  
Arisawa Tatsuki**

Tatsuki really liked Ichigo and Mirai. They were very different form each other but still had that undercurrent of _sameness_ with them. Maybe it was because they had known each other for so long or because they both could allegedly see ghosts, Tatsuki wasn’t sure.

And yes, Tatsuki knew about the rumors around Ichigo. Though the boy had tried to hide it he had never really succeeded in it. Until his mother died. And while Mirai had been always protective of the boy, it became more so after the incident. In the end it wasn’t that big of a stretch to conclude that Mirai could also see whatever Ichigo could and had probably explained it to him.

The two grew closer.

Oh, they never tried to exclude Tatsuki out of anything they did together but they also didn’t try and reach out to her. Probably in a fear of being laughed at. While Mirai seemed like she wouldn’t care about the rumors, Tatsuki had seen the way the grey eyes narrowed whenever the whispers started. Mostly the whispers were about Ichigo, his hair, his lack of mother, his supposed craziness. And it wasn’t just kids that did it. It was thugs on the streets, teachers and parents behind their palms… It was awful.

The trio had ganged up against some of the bigger kids more than once before and would do it again and again until they learnt their lesson.

(They never did.)

* * *

Ichigo and Mirai both dropped out of dojo. Tatsuki could understand that. She didn’t like it but she understood. And they still saw each other at school and outside of it so it was mostly okay.

Then something happened in October that caused the pair to keep distance publicly yet huddle closer. Tatsuki didn’t know how to approach the matter. She supposed that maybe they’d had a close encounter with that burglar in the area.

And Ichigo spent more time with Tatsuki trying to learn the katas she learnt at dojo. While Mirai was wherever.

Until Mirai did her own disappearing trick. Ichigo had done so right after his mother funerals but Tatsuki wasn’t aware that something as bad had happened to Mirai. Nevertheless, she joined the search while Ichigo went to recruit another friend of theirs. Someone called ‘Bara-san’…

Mirai was eventually found. She had run all the way to Yumisawa and had been found by ‘Neko-san’ and ‘Bara-san’. It was frustrating how Ichigo and Mirai were avoiding telling Tatsuki anything concrete and of importance.

“Fine. But if your… imaginary friends hurt you I’m going to kick their butts, is that clear?” Tatsuki told the pair, receiving a baffled stare but two nods from them.

* * *

The year and the next went well between them. Whatever had rattled Mirai and Ichigo in October was slowly becoming a bad memory and trio had settled onto a routine. They met at school and did homework together usually at either at Tatsuki’s house or Mirai’s. (Apparently Mirai was unofficially banned from Kurosaki Clinic.) Then they’d either go to park to practice or parted ways for the day.

The break to the routine came eventually when junior high started. Ichigo and Mirai went to Mashiba Junior High in Mashiba while Tatsuki went to Hoshimori Junior High in Tsubakidai. and in that school she met with Inoue Orihime.

The first meeting between them was… emotional. Some girls were picking on Orihime because of the sweet girl’s hair color and Tatsuki – who could only see Ichigo and his bullies and this time _no one helping_ because Orihime didn’t have a Mirai – intervened. The bullies were easily pushed to the ground but not before they’d managed to take scissors to Orihime’s hair and cut it.

“Leave her alone!” Tatsuki yelled at the girls who scampered away, relatively unharmed and wailing anyways. Tatsuki was tempted to follow them but Orihime needed her more.

“Hey, are you alright?” She crouched in front of the crying girl whose once mid-back length orange locks were now choppy and barely reached her chin.

“Un…” Orihime nodded despite her tears and tried to offer a wobbly smile. “Thank you, Arisawa-san.”

“It’s Tatsuki. And you are welcome, Inoue-san.”

“Y-You can call me Orihime.”

“Okay. Can you stand? I’ll walk you home.” Tatsuki offered a hand to the other girl.

“I… I can’t go looking like this! Sora-niisan will be worried!” Orihime’s hand went to her choppy locks and a fresh wave of tears threatened to come.

Tatsuki tilted her head and regarded the damage. She had an idea…

“Why don’t you come at my place? I can try to fix it. Or ask okaa-san to do it. She is a hairdresser but I don’t know if she is home yet.”

“O-Okay… Thank you, Tatsuki-chan!”

* * *

They made it all the way to Minamikawase without meeting people that’d recognize either of them.

“Tatsuki-chan, long time no see.”

Mirai was standing in the middle of the road, her hands folded behind her back and rocking heel to toes cheerfully.

“Have you made a new friend?”

The interesting thing about Mirai was that she never seemed to be surprised about anything ordinary. Though considering how much she seemed to spend time with stuff that was ‘extraordinary’ it probably shouldn’t have come as a surprise.

Meanwhile Orihime let out a ‘meep’ and hid behind Tatsuki.

“Ah, yeah… We were just going at my place? How about you? School ended?”

“Yep. Kanzo-iro just managed to somehow snag a little errand in the neighborhood and ditched me for it.”

Considering that money was tight with the Kurosaki family even after the clinic was working again, Tatsuki could understand. Mirai’s father still brought over leftover food for the kids and sometimes oversaw Yuzu’s cooking as doctor Kurosaki was useless in the kitchen.

“Who’s your friend? I haven’t seen her around before?” Mirai asked then.

“Oh, this is Inoue Orihime, from my class. A little mishap happened earlier today so I’m helping her.” If she told Mirai what had happened, she’d surely devise a way to get revenge on the bullies despite being in another school and not even knowing Orihime. That’s the type of person she was… She got _bored_ easily.

The said girl nodded, her black locks bobbing up and down with her head’s movement and wait a minute…

“That isn’t a wig, is it?” Tatsuki noted. While Mirai had numerous wigs she used to mess up with people’s perceptions of her and her appearance, the cut and volume of her current look was identical to her natural hair: brushing her shoulders and some bangs swept to the side and almost falling on her left eye.

“Ah, you noticed…” The girl continued smiling. “I got bored with them. Too much of a hassle in the mornings when the route to school takes longer anyways…” And she casually side-stepped mentioning that her hair color was the one she hid, not style. Maybe it was because of Orihime. “Kanzo-iro wasn’t too happy about my decision but understood eventually.”

Ichigo must have. Unusual haircolors were what had caused the two originally bond over.

The girls parted ways then. Mirai headed towards Sakurabashi and Tatsuki and Orihime made their way to the former’s home. Eventually Tatsuki got the orangette open up and chatter about anything and everything. But the previous conversation couldn’t leave Tatsuki alone for a long time afterwards. Because it was strange that… Sometimes Tatsuki could swear that she’d seen a glimpse of Mirai running through the streets with her blond hair fluttering behind her while she chased after a black cat…

* * *

Almost a year later Orihime’s brother died. He was brought to Kurosaki clinic which was the closest to the place of accident and that’s where he took his last breaths while his little sister cried. Tatsuki comforted her new best friend (because there was no denying that Ichigo and Mirai were that to each other) the best she could and was horrified to later discover that Orihime continued living alone in the apartment that she and Sora had shared. Some distant relative paid for her rent and bills and gave some allowance but eventually days found the orange-haired girl working at local bakery as an assistant.

Well, Tatsuki could in the end only be thankful that the custody of her friend hadn’t gone back to her parents.

* * *

“Ugh!” Tatsuki grunted when she hit the ground. They were sparring at Tsubakidai park which was located at Sakurabashi instead of Tsubakidai for some reason.

“And the match this time goes to Kanzo-iro!” Mirai announced, holding her right arm out at the ‘side’ that Ichigo had fought from. Tatsuki got on her feet.

“Again.” She demanded.

“It’s almost lunch-time, Tatsuki.” Ichigo scowled. It had become his default expression during the past three years. Though he still smiled and laughed occasionally, those expressions were reserved solely for his sisters, Tatsuki and Mirai and her family.

“Fine…” Tatsuki sighed and got up with the help of Ichigo’s offered hand. Then she shifted her weight and pulled Ichigo down with her sitting on his back, the arm she’d been holding onto now twisted at the small of his back. Mirai laughed at the background when Ichigo let out a curse. “Language. What was the rule number one again?”

Considering the amount of fights they got on their free time and also at school, the trio had developed rules for themselves.

“Rule number one: Fight isn’t over until the opponent is down and stays down.” Ichigo sighed. Then Mirai tackled Tatsuki.

“And what is rule number two then?” The former blonde grinned.

“Rule number two: always expect the unexpected.” Unless it was an official tournament in question. But the other two didn’t have those to compete in.

“And number three then?” Ichigo had twisted his hand into Mirai’s hair and yanked her upright sitting position.

“Ow, ow, ow… Rule number three: There is no such thing as fair fight.” And the hand was gone and the girl slumped onto Tatsuki before she sprung up, rubbing her scalp (for show). “That was mean, Kanzo-iro!”

“I made my point, didn’t I, Asagi?” Ichigo crossed his arms.

“Hai, hai…” Mirai groused. “See if I give you any of your favorites from papa’s bento!”

“Oi!”

Tatsuki grinned at the exchange and lifted up one finger at her position still on the ground.

“Rule number four: threats and blackmail are definitely acceptable.”

“That doesn’t apply here!” Ichigo shouted, indignant.

“Yes, it does.” Mirai and Tatsuki chorused.

“Why are you ganging up on me?”

“Because you are a boy.” Tatsuki shrugged.

“Because you get riled up easily.” Mirai grinned from a spread picnic blanket and separated three low-rimmed bentoboxes to serve them as plates and pulled apart a layered bento that the three of them would share. It was on weekends like this that Kenji would with Mirai’s help do a large bento like this for the three of them. Tatsuki loved it. And so did Ichigo who always brought the leftovers home for Yuzu and Karin. And apparently next time Yuzu met with Kenji, she’d ask him how a certain part of the dish was made.

“Mirai, your birthday is coming up soon, right?” Tatsuki noted then whilst filling her plate with tempura. Ichigo had already snatched teriyaki chicken for himself while Mirai was already enjoying some tamagoyaki.

“Yup!  Next Monday actually!” The former blonde chirped. “We’re gonna hold the celebration at the theater.”

Right, since Dina worked at the theater in Karakura Honchou, Mirai had gotten to know the people there too. And during the past year for a reason or other had also occasionally dragged Ichigo there too.

To practice his foot work in the form of dance lessons if his complaining was to be trusted. The results did show though with Ichigo managing to surprise Tatsuki whenever they sparred with his unconventional choices of dodges and blocks.

“Am I invited then?”

“Sure! It’s mostly just my family and family friends but you and Kanzo-iro are invited too.”

* * *

Next Monday after school the trio met up in the crossing that connected their home streets and went together to the theater. Only for them to be turned away on an errand.

“Go to… Hmm… Oh, yeah, there is a cute little store in Mitsumiya.” One of the actresses, Harumori Nanami, told the kids. “Buy these supplies from there and come back then.”

The list was thrust into Mirai’s hands with enough cash to cover it all and some extra.

“And what is this shop called then?” Ichigo scowled, irritated that they had to go all the way to the other side of Karakura. “So we can actually find it.”

“Urahara Shoten. I visit it regularly since it’s so close to my boyfriend’s apartment.” The actress smiled.

“You just want us out of the way so you can finish the preparations for the party.” Mirai smiled back, not at all bothered by the task.

“Right on one. Now, shoo. Go on. And remember to walk. Kids need fresh air.”

* * *

The shop was… a lot of things but ‘cute’ wasn’t one of them no matter what Harumori thought. ‘Dingy’ would been a lot more describing word for it. Tidy and eccentric too.

Tatsuki had her doubts from the place but concentrated on getting the stuff they were assigned to get. Behind her Ichigo and Mirai were pickering over whether or not they’d add wasabi peanuts in their haul since they weren’t on the list itself. And the shopkeeper himself just chuckled to himself. Shady-looking man that one couldn’t be sure if he was old or young.

“Do we have everything that was on the list?” Tatsuki broke the two apart. Mirai blinked and looked down at the list she had been clutching the entire time and had refused to give to either of them. Her palms were sweaty. It was weird, usually nothing affected her.

“Yes, I think so. But why can’t we get the Wasabi Nuts too?” She pouted.

“Because you are the only one that eats them.” Ichigo snorted.

“Not true! Neko-san eats them too!”

“He is a cat. You just say so to explain why you eat double portion of them.”

Mirai buffed up and deflated then.

“Okay… You got me…” Something in her expression said that she disagreed with Ichigo though. “Can we get them then because it’s my birthday?” She asked hopefully.

“…Fine.” Ichigo groused and dropped a packet of said peanuts coated in wasabi into the basket full of treats. It had a lot of stuff and all three of them would be needed to carry them all.

“Yay!” Mirai gave a little jump but stumbled the landing and fell on her back. “Oww…”

“Are you alright?” Ichigo shoved the basket on Tatsuki and helped their friend on her feet again.

“Fine, fine…” The former blonde sighed. “Just excitable is all…”

“You’re shaking. You nervous?” Tatsuki asked, noticing the faint tremor in Mirai’s hands.

“Eh, never been to Mitsumiya before so yeah…” A shrug.

“I’d be inclined to believe that if you hadn’t run all the way to Yumisawa that one day…” Ichigo was scowling, letting go of Mirai’s hands and putting his own hands on his hips.

“I actually took a bus there.” Mirai interjected waving a dismissive hand when…

A paper fan went through the loop of her bracelet and lifted it a bit higher. The three preteens looked up at the shop keeper who was observing the bracelet that Tatsuki had never seen Mirai without. Like nowadays Orihime always wore her hair pins without fail.

“May I… take a closer look at this?”

“No, you may not, tenchou-san.” Mirai frowned. Tatsuki noted that the girl’s right hand which still clutched the shopping list was clenched into a fist and hidden by her body from the shopkeeper.

And something clicked in the whole situation. It wasn’t Mitsumiya itself that made Mirai nervous. It was that man, the owner of Urahara Shoten. But it was obvious from their interaction that this was the first time they met and Mirai wasn’t _afraid_. So what was it then…?

Ichigo’s shoulders were tense even when the man retreated with easy smile on his face, nothing overblown like the acts Ichigo’s father pulled but not completely honest either. Something that was used because it was a habit. It was familiar…

Tatsuki took a stock at the man again. Ichigo seemed to have been figured it out when he stepped in front of Mirai and moved to pay their load of treats. Admittedly the man’s appearance was quite unsual but not as strange as some fellows in Karakura Honchou. Bit old-fashioned look in his green jinbei and dark haori and geta. The bucket hat effectively hid his eyes unless one looked from certain directions… Like from the slight down-ward angle that the three of them had just watched him. And the grey eyes and blond hair definitely weren’t common. Actually, Tatsuki had only seen such color combination on…

Wait a minute… She looked at Mirai who was now seemingly just perusing the selection again. Could it be…? Tatsuki did know that Mirai was adopted by Kotobuki’s but still…

“Done. Let’s go.” Ichigo gave one bag for each girl and they made to exist the shop.

“You all are welcome to visit again if you have time.” The man called from behind them.

“Maybe!” Mirai called back, waved again while making sure that sunlight hit the bracelet in her left wrist. Like teasing the man that he failed in whatever he was trying to do about it.

* * *

“Asagi…” Ichigo began once they were several blocks away from the shop.

“I… dunno… Maybe. Neko-san might tell if I asked him but I don’t really even want to know.” Mirai sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Tatsuki didn’t like being out of the loop so she bluntly told what she thought.

“Mirai, was that your father?”

“I… what?” The pair of them stared at her in shock.

“C’mon, I’m not stupid. You are the only other person probably in entire Karakura who has blond hair and grey eyes.” Tatsuki glared. “Stop keeping me out of this. I want to know. Everything! It’s obvious that you know something big going on here and you refuse to tell anyone. And this Neko-san you’ve mentioned twice this far obviously is no normal cat and… I’ve seen you Mirai! I’ve seen you running around with blonde hair even after you dyed it.”

“Oh…” Mirai’s eyes softened and she sighed. She exchanged a glance with Ichigo who shrugged and tilted his head, like saying ‘your choice’. “Okay. We’ll tell you.”

* * *

The following explanation was insane yet it made sense. That was probably the most frightening part. The truthfulness of it all.

“Neko-san told us that because of Ichigo’s large amounts of reiatsu which are still growing and general reishi reserves of Karakura town, it is possible that heäll end up affecting people he spends most time with and who have the potential reiatsu within them already.” Mirai explained seriously. “For example Yuzu-chan’s sight has already improved during the past years.”

“But wouldn’t that affect the people on your class then too?”

“No. I can keep my reiatsu closer nowadays and my control is only improving despite the growth.” Ichigo said.

“It’s like training any muscle despite going through growth spurts.” Mirai continued explaining. “But when we are together and especially when we are sparring, Ichigo can’t focus on his control that well and thus might slip. That’s why you’ve been able to see a glimpse of me and Neko-san when I’ve been out of my gigai.”

“I see…” All that information was making her head hurt. And they were almost at the theater by now. “What do you say if we talk about this more tomorrow or something?”

“Don’t you have karate tomorrow?” Ichigo asked.

“Ah, yes I do. Damn…” Tatsuki ran a hand through her choppy black locks in frustration.

“Next Saturday then. Same time and location as always.” Mirai smiled. I’ll make something special for us.”

“Deal.”

They stepped in the theater and went to the large stage which had a table set and some of the set pieces around. It was like they were in a Royal French Garden or something.

“Happy Birthday, Mirai-chan!”

“Congratulations on your thirteen years!”

“Best of luck in the consecutive years!”

“Long life for you, Mirai-chan!”

The birthday girl laughed happily.

“Thank you everyone!”


	8. Kurosaki Karin and Yuzu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little siblings are honest and wonderful.

**Created Life from Death 8  
Kurosaki Karin and Yuzu**

The twins liked Mirai. She was their big sister. Even though it was a bit confusing how Ichigo had known her for so long but never talked about her at home before. But Mirai was brilliant help when it came to explaining the spiritual world for them. Ichigo tended to simplify things a bit too much in their tastes.

And with Mirai’s help they managed to find closure over their mother’s death too. It was terrible and sad that they couldn’t see their mother again, that she was _gone_ … But they held hope that eventually they had a chance of meeting again.

(Mirai very carefully left out that most souls lost their memories in afterlife and never met their loved ones again. Then again, Masaki was at Kuukaku’s house and hopefully they would find a loop hole later for the members of Shiba Clan to be reunited again…)

And Mirai’s parents were great too. Kenji had Yuzu assisting him in the kitchen and at the same time teaching her how to cook. He had Ichigo practicing kendo for free so that Karin could get her soccer lessons and was in general an attentive father figure without overly smothering the girls, like Isshin did.

Dina taught the girls and Ichigo how to take care of home otherwise. How to sort laundry and change sheets. How to fold them up in the cabinet in a way that they remained smooth and didn’t take that much space. She taught them how to utilize cleaning products safely and wait until they are older to use the heavier cleaning substances. She also took them a couple of times for a tour in the theater and let the try on costumes there. Dina was different from Masaki and it was fine.

* * *

Yuzu frowned at their homework. They were supposed to draw their family trees and put basic information under the pictures of their family but…

“Otou-san… How old are you?” She asked the man who just came to the living room from his shift at the clinic.

“Hm? Why do you need to know?” Isshin smiled jovially at the twins who were lying on their stomachs on the living room floor with papers, books and coloring pencils strewn over the carpet. Karin was still coloring the background lime green for the foliage of the tree. Yuzu in the other hand had opted for pine green. (And Ichigo had colored it bright red of Japanese Maple when he had done the homework four years ago.)

“Because it’s for school. We found kaa-san’s birth certificate and counted her age from that but couldn’t do the same with you.” Karin scowled.

“From that birth certificate we also found the names of okaa-san’s parents. Otou-san, what are your parents’ names? Are they still alive?” Yuzu asked then.

Isshin was sweating.

“If you want to, you can copy what I put down on my homework back then.” Ichigo said from the doorway.

“Really?” The fairer twin perked up. “Thank you, oniichan!”

“Thank you, Ichi-nii.” Karin nodded too. “Thanks for nothing, goat-face…”

“I got it somewhere in my room so you can take you stuff up there.” Ichigo nodded and the girls followed after him, leaving Isshin half-frozen in the living room. He had never really anticipated that his children would ask about family beyond him and Masaki. And as they’d never celebrated his birthdays either… Well…

* * *

“You seriously put 439 as goat-face’s age?” Karin stared at the paper.

“I was frustrated with the lack of information. So I went to hospital to ask information. The director apparently knew our parents so he could fill in for okaa-san’s part.” Ichigo pointed at the grandparents and great-grandparents on Masaki’s side of the tree, all of them marked dead. “He couldn’t help with father though and said to just toss some random number there. So I did.” The boy shrugged.

“That’s mean, oniichan.” Yuzu muttered while faithfully copying down the names and dates.

“Hmm… We got the same teacher than you did… What if we just added four years to that number? Hashinaka-sensei, got to appreciate the humor.”

“Well, I got relatively good grade of this, despite it so why not.” Ichigo shrugged.

And so the age box under ‘Otou-san: Isshin’ was filled with the number 443.

“Nee, oniichan?”

“Yeah?”

“What was otou-san’s family name before he married okaa-san?”

“No clue. I never managed to track down their marriage certificate.”

* * *

The years went past and Mirai remained in their lives. Whether it was Dead-or-Alive game or shopping clothes for the twins, she was there to instruct them. She taught Yuzu and Karin how to write a letter to be sent to the spirit world for their mother and they made it a tradition to send one with Ichigo whenever it was their birthday, some big holiday or festival, like Obon, and of course after visiting Masaki’s grave on the day she’d died.

Mirai and Ichigo taught them both how to punch and kick correctly so they could defend themselves if they every found themselves in trouble and _alone_. Because no matter how much Ichigo wanted to protect his sisters, he couldn’t follow them everywhere.

“But who protects Ichi-nii then?” Karin asked one day. Ichigo blinked, like the thought hadn’t even occurred to him. Because since he was little, he had always thought it was his job to protect his sisters and his mother. His sisters because they were younger and smaller than him. His mother because she had also protected him. And of course that all was something Isshin was telling him to do while beating him up.

“I will.” Mirai answered, garnering stares from the three siblings. “Oh, shush. I’m older than Kanzo-iro, of course I look after him and got his back. So he can concentrate on protecting you.”

She smiled. And with the summer wind blowing into her hair and sunlight shining upon her, she seemed both so gentle and strong at the same time. Karin trusted her. And Yuzu admired her.

“Okay… We get stronger together and look after each other.” Ichigo swallowed thickly.

“As equals.” Mirai reminded.

“As equals.” Ichigo nodded. They knew very well that girls could be as strong as boys. And that boys were allowed to show weakness too, just like girls. The world wasn’t black and white no matter what adults preached.

And that applied to Karin and Yuzu too.

While in one world Karin would’ve been a tough tomboy that never cried so she wouldn’t burden her family, here she still kicked bullies and played soccer but also helped around house so Yuzu didn’t need to do everything. If something hurt or she was really angry, she let herself to cry but only when with Yuzu or Ichigo or his two best female friends. She wore t-shirts and skorts in dark colors but had occasionally some splash of color when she borrowed Yuzu’s hairclips or peach colored t-shirt instead of using her own white one.

In one world Yuzu would’ve been oblivious homemaker that never got angry, epitome of girly-ness and bathed in pastels and the smell of cinnamon, here she remained stern when her father started strange and ridiculous anticts. Here she put her foot down so Ichigo didn’t leave home without eating first. Here her weapons were both gentle smile and puppy eyes that made the men of her family to give in. (She once heard her father muttering something about scary smiles and terrifying women and felt proud.) She wore peach and soft green and cream and lilac and while preferring skirts over pants, she did have several pairs of jeans in her closet too.

Karin wanted to be tough girl like Tatsuki. Yuzu wanted to be gentle but strong like Mirai.

* * *

Yuzu and Karin loved their father. Isshin looked after them and after pulling out of the funk where he was after Masaki’s death, he tried to make them laugh and smile as much as possible. It worked sometimes but sometimes his continuous antics were tiresome. But he was very loving father despite his obvious denial of all things spiritual and overprotectiveness over his daughters.

Of course there were some strange things as well. A rule that Ichigo implemented when he introduced the twins to Mirai.

“Do not talk about her while at home. Do not tell goat-face that you know her.”

It was strange at first. But considering how strongly Isshin denied the ghosts that Ichigo saw, it seemed safer that Mirai, who obviously knew a lot about ghosts and other spiritual beings (like the bakeneko that followed her sometimes), was not mentioned around the man. Neither Yuzu or Karin believe that Isshin would do anything bad to the older girl but better safe than sorry. They didn’t want to be banned from seeing her just because she had a disagreeing worldview from their father’s.

* * *

Mirai and Ichigo were twelve. The twins were eight. It was September. They were cornered. Thugs had approached from both sides of the street and boxed them in. Ichigo and Mirai were standing back to back, with the girls between them.

“Damn, I can’t use kidou on them…” Mirai muttered from the corner of her mouth.

“Shush, you can take them without one.” Ichigo hissed back. Then one of the thugs flicked open a pocket knife.

Everyone froze. Yuzu could feel how Ichigo’s back muscles tensed under her hands that clutched his shirt. Karin counted the amount of opponents they had and wondered if she could be of any help. There were six thugs altogether and one knife. Correction. Three knives and a pair of iron knuckles. Karin swallowed heavily.

“Kanzo-iro…” Mirai began.

“Pity that Tatsuki isn’t here.” It would’ve evened the odds. “Karin, Yuzu can you take one without weapons. Just kick in the crotch will do. Otherwise just dodge.”

The instructions made sense.

“Can do…” Karin said.

“Stop whispetin’ weirdo gakis…” One of the thugs declared. He had a lisp due to some missing teeth.

“Yuzu-chan, do you have the ground pepper in your bag?” Mirai asked then. “They had just been grocery shopping and had all sorts of stuff in their shopping bags. Karin freed Ichigo’s hands from the bag he had and tested the weight. It had a bag of flour in it. It should be heavy enough…

“I got it.” Yuzu groped around her bag and closed her hand around the pepper can. She slowly screwed it open.

“Alright. Leave the knives to me.” Mirai said, slipping her hand into the pocket of her hoodie. She drew a butterfly knife and twirled it open. “Then I can claim self-defense.”

“Roger that.” Ichigo slid into ready stance. Yuzu dropped her bag. Karin took a hold with two hands of her own. Mirai remained seemingly relaxed but the line of her shoulders told a different story.

The thugs laughed. Said stuff about some pitiful brats having no chance against them. About big shots rewarding them if they put Ichigo and Mirai (and Tatsuki) in their places. Karin didn’t like the sound of that.

The tension rose up and then it broke. Everything exploded into action. Ichigo took down the knuckles. Yuzu threw pepper in the face of the guy next to him. Karin swung the flour bag at the head of one with a knife and kicked him  in the crotch while Ichigo engaged other weaponless guy. Mirai weaved and ducked around the other two knife guys and masterfully used her own knife to deflect them. Then she managed to cut shallowly at their wrist and even stupider person realized that they got to drop their knives to stop the blood flow.

That ended the fight.

“Let’s get out of here.” Ichigo said and they ran. They made it to the closest park where they ditched anything incriminating. Like the bag of flour that had been punctured by the knife guy and left a trail of flour after them. Mirai wiped her knife clean of blood and concealed it again. Then the older kids checked the twins to make sure they were unharmed. Karin and Yuzu were fine. And now they understood their older brother and ‘sister’ better.

They were awesome. They were strong. But they also allowed themselves to fear and then become stronger by overcoming that fear.

They were influences to each other, encouraging and holding back simultaneously.

They complimented each other yet could accommodate anyone they included in their circle. Tatsuki, the twins, eventually Sado, eventually Mizuiro and Keigo, eventually Rukia, eventually Orihime and Ishida…

* * *

“Mirai-nee, what are you looking at?” Karin frowned at the older girl. She was leaning against window sill and peering out of the window intently, her brows scrunched up thoughtfully.

“I just now noticed really but…” The girl began and looked away from the window, away from her own mirror image. “Kaachan visited last night after my birthday party was finished… And I noticed that the shape of my eyes doesn’t match hers. It doesn’t match touchan’s either for that matter even if the color is his.”

“Did you ask her about it then?” The nine-year-old girl asked, sitting down on the bed of the bedroom. Yuzu and Ichigo were downstairs of the Kotobuki residence, going through so recipes together and questioning Kenji about some ingredients in them.

“I did… But she didn’t see any difference between us. But it’s so obvious! Her eyes are narrow and about an equal level all the way, touchan’s eyes tilt downwards at outer corners while I…” Mirai drew her right eyelid closed. “It’s the inner corner that’s narrower than outer corner. Not cat-like eyes but…”

“What do you suspect then?”

Mirai sighed. “I don’t know. Kaachan insist that no one else knew about her project and that all in her notes are in order that no one could’ve tampered with them or the reiatsu samples she had. I haven’t seen either of them so I can’t verify on my own but…”

“Have you talked Ichi-nii about this? Or Dina-ba and Kenji-ji?”

“Kanzo-iro, yes. When I brought it up, he did agree with me but without any further evidence and with kaachan strong denial, it’s impossible to make any further conclusions.” Mirai shrugged. “Now, how would you like to learn a kidou spell? Bakudou no.1: Sai, would be the one I’m thinking.”

“Are you sure?” Karin asked with wide eyes.

“Sure.” Mirai grinned. “And when Yuzu-chan has enough reiatsu to learn it, I’ll teach it to her too


	9. Kotobuki Kenji and Dina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Parents have their bias but it can't really be helped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was surprisingly hard chapter to write. but in the end I'm satisfied.

**Created Life from Death 9  
Kotobuki Kenji and Dina**

They loved her. From the moment she was laid upon Dina’s arms, they loved the little girl. And because they knew it necessary yet could see how pained Tomo was, they allowed the Shinigami to remain in the life of their daughter.

Mirai was wonderful. Almost perfect but that word was dangerous to use on anyone. But she was very, _very_ close to that. She was cheery, kind, understanding, social, talented… And while that might’ve been parental bias speaking, Dina and Kenji rarely found anything wrong with her. They were delighted to be called ‘mama’ and ‘papa’ even when Tomo became ‘kaachan’ and Mirai’s mysterious father was ‘touchan’.

When Mirai was three, she made her first friend in young Kurosaki Ichigo. That brought the families together too. While that time was later stained by Masaki’s death, Dina and Kenji couldn’t have been prouder of their daughter when she helped Ichigo and the twins to overcome their grief.

When she was seven, she got to know Tatsuki who remained as her sole female friend for a long time. And Mirai did talk about some of her other friends but Dina and Kenji thought them just as products of active imagination.

* * *

“Mama, look! I’m a butterfly!” Mirai laughed when she was five and running around the backstage of the theater with a pair was fairy wings at her back.

“And such a wonderful butterfly you are.” Dina laughed and scooped the blonde girl up. “Are flapping your wings really hard then?”

“Yes! And I’m causing hurricanes!”

“Such a hardworking butterfly is going to be hungry then. Should we go home and see what papa has cooked?”

“Un!” The girl nodded enthusiastically.

Mirai was a butterfly, fluttering from people to another, never staying in one place for long. She got people to watch her and admire her uniqueness. She wrapped the people at the theater and in the neighborhood around her fingers and made others smile just with her presence.

* * *

“Does it hurt?” Kenji asked gently when wrapping a gauze against the friction burn Mirai had in her arm. The girl shook her head but was biting her lips to prevent crying. She had been at the dojo practicing with the shinai when a bigger kid had pushed the six-year-old girl against the polished wooden floors. It had left red mark on her bare arms but afterwards one of the other instructors had laid onto the other kid.

“Just cry, if you feel like crying and then stand up and look forward. You survived, time to take the next step and not stop.” The other instructor said gruffly. Mirai giggled.

“This isn’t a battlefield, Kamenozoki-san.”

The silverhaired man blinked but just huffed.

“Sometimes advise for battlefield works well outside of it too. The real warrior knows when to utilize them and when to lay them rest.” He ruffled Mirai hair and made his way to the class that was about to begin soon.

“…Papa, I like him. You did well to employ him.”

“I’m glad to hear that, Mirai-chan. I also think that Muguruma-sensei is doing well. If only he stopped calling the students recruits…” Kenji sighed. The girl giggled again.

“I don’t think he ever will.”

Mirai was perspective. She could read people well. Sometimes her choices in friends were strange but Dina and Kenji accepted them. She did know whom to trust and who she should avoid.

* * *

“I had a strange dream…” Seven-year-old Mirai muttered when she climbed between her parents on their bed. It was five in the morning. She had woken up earlier than usual.

“What was it like?” Dina asked sleepily, drawing her daughter’s hair away from her face.

“I was at the theater… but the audience was flooded. The balconies were the only place for them. I was standing on the stage and there was whispers…” The girl muttered whilst lying on her stomach.

“Was it scary?” Kenji asked then.

“Nuh-uh. I liked them.” Mirai shook her head against the duvet beneath her. “I felt safe. Even when the whispers made ripples on the water.”

“Sometimes dreams are like that.” Dina smiled. “Strange but not scary. I once dreamt of flying around the world with just an umbrella. The winds were strong but I was never scared.”

“…I wouldn’t mind seeing that dream again.” Mirai hid a yawn. “It was so peaceful.”

“Let’s sleep a bit more. It’s weekend after all.” Kenji drew the blanket over Mirai and the family of three fell asleep once more.

Mirai was creative. She dreamt colorfully. She played tunes never heard before with her violin. She mimicked people around her and mirrored their mannerisms. She was a rainbow in a constant motion.

* * *

“Just don’t take these off and you will be fine.” Nakatomi Tomo said before leaving again. Mirai was eight. She looked down at her bracelets and frowned.

“…I don’t like them.” She whispered once the Shinigami was gone. Dina kneeled next to her.

“I know dear but if Nakatomi-san says that they’ll keep you safe…”

“They make me feel stiff… and like I’m cut off from everything.” The girl muttered. “And lately my gigai has felt too cramped.”

“That’s because you are growing, dear. Let’s hope Nakatomi-san will visit soon to adjust it for you.” Kanji comforted the girl.

At first the Shinigami woman had been ‘Tomo-san’ because giving them a daughter had warranted gratitude and closeness. But then the woman’s …alieness had come forward. She knew nothing about children and about taking care of them. While showing affection to Mirai, she still marveled how fast the girl was growing and maturing. The affection wasn’t maternal either but that of a distant aunt. No matter how much Tomo tried (and she did, really hard), she was always detached from Mirai in a way that no mother shouldn’t have.

And the undercurrent of fear never helped the matters.

“It’s alright, Mirai-chan.” Dina drew her daughter into an embrace. “Would you like to go to park today?”

“…I feel tired. Could we just take a nap? All together?” The girl asked hopefully.

“Of course.”

Mirai was vulnerable. She didn’t like showing it but sometimes she teetered on the edge of exhaustion and shattering. She was doing so much and sometimes Dina and Kenji felt like they might be holding her back. But whenever Mirai smiled and reached for them, it was always genuine and lightened their hearts again.

* * *

“Hiyaah!” Hit, kick, block. Hit, hit, dodge, block. A light blue scarf was tightly wrapped over Mirai’s hair as she sparred with Tatsuki. They were the strongest girls in their karate class. Ichigo was on his way to be the strongest of the boys but was still afraid of getting hit even though Tatsuki and Mirai were working on that on their spare time.

Mirai was strong. Both emotionally and physically. She stood up after falling down. She helped others to stand up too. And Kenji and Dina couldn’t have been prouder of her.

* * *

“I will teach you how to use this knife if you promise to be careful and use it only when you are in danger.” Kenji had a butterfly knife on his palm as he showed it to Mirai. The ten-year-old girl looked down at the knife solemnly and nodded. They were at the dojo with just the two of them and Kensei. There had been a rash of violent burglaries in Karakura and considering the trouble Mirai tended to get to with her friends on usual days… It was better safe than sorry.

“I promise to use it only in emergency.” She smiled. It was a sad smile, out of understanding that shouldn’t have existed yet. Kenji ignored it. He trusted his daughter.

That why he was surprised and scared that only a week later Ichigo came running to the dojo during lunch break and dragged confused Mirai outside. Curious, he followed the two, not realizing that Kensei came after them too.

“Do you remember? Please, tell me you remember last night!” Ichigo begged the girl. Kenji frowned. Last night… Mirai was home, wasn’t she? He hadn’t seen her in the evening but maybe she’d gone to sleep earlier. He had thought she’d had a sleepover at Kurosaki’s but maybe he was mistaken…

“I… It’s all fuzzy…” Mirai muttered. “What happened then?”

“Karin and Yuzu, they remember nothing of last night. They remember nothing of you!” The boy told her and Mirai froze, remembering.

“Kikashinki…” She whispered.

“A what?”

“A memory replacer. The… special ghosts use them on humans so they forget encounters with hollows and replace them with something else, like gas explosion or arson or car accident or something. Kaachan told me about them.” Mirai explained nervously.

“But why didn’t it work on us then?”

At that point a hand fell on Kenji’s shoulder and steered him away, preventing him from hearing the rest of the conversation. He had no clue who could’ve used that… device on the kids or who he should even ask about the matter. Kensei gave him a stern look, telling him to drop the matter.

Mirai was scared. She told no one about what happened and on the next day disappeared for hours. Ichigo found her with their friends and got her home safely, soaked through but looking like she’d found something new to strive for.

* * *

“Test them now.” Mirai gave a pair of light blue glasses to Yuzu to put on. The girl placed them on her nose and looked around. “Can you see this?”

She lifted her hand and formed a number with her reiatsu upon her palm.

“It’s a number three!” The little girl smiled.

“That’s right. If you can see it clearly, you can also see ghosts clearly now. In time you can leave the glasses but for now they are a good way for you to differentiate between the living and dead.” Mirai smiled and packed her tools into a small box. She and the Kurosaki siblings were gathered around the table in the living room of the Kotobuki’s home and Mirai had finished making Yuzu reaitsu enhancing glasses based on the two pairs that Tomo had made for Dina and Kenji.

“That’s cool, Asagi. How did you figure to them?” Ichigo asked, turning over one of the model glasses in his hands.

“I wrote up the sigils and their sequences and then started figuring out what each of them did. The basic template already existed but I needed to tune them to Yuzu-chan’s reiatsu so they’d work on her the right way. Not too strong or too weak, you know.” She explained. “Bara-san and Neko-san have explained me bits and I’ve build up from there and actual science.”

“Do you think I could do something like that too?” The boy asked with his sisters already gone to the window and peering outside for ghosts to see.

“Maybe… You need more control and we both need more information but you are smart enough.” Mirai smiled and then turned towards the kitchen. “Papa, mama, I’m done! Where do you want me to put your glasses?”

“Just put them to the drawer in the bookshelf. You know which one. It has the cases for them in it too.” Dina called back.

“Okay!”

Mirai was smart. She could easily figure things out and she had maturity and patience to wait until certain information or skills were needed. And she enjoyed teaching Tatsuki, Ichigo and his sisters too. Sometimes Dina was afraid that she was running too fast to the future. The uncertain future.

* * *

“Can you tell me about Soul Society?” Mirai asked the black cat in her lap. “No? Alright then. Maybe another time.”

That was Neko-san. He never talked in Dina and Kenji’s presence. Mirai talked to him though. Her long locks swayed in the wind coming from the open window. The girl was completely at peace whenever the cat visited and it also eased Dina’s heart. There had been many times when she’d visited Mirai and found the girl asleep on her bed, hand frozen mid-motion in petting the feline when she’d fallen asleep.

Now, if only they found out her friend Bara-san so they could thank him for teaching Mirai and Ichigo…

* * *

“They just don’t look alike.” Mirai frowned at her mirror image after her thirteenth birthday.

“What don’t?” Dina asked gently.

“My eyes. They don’t look alike with… Tomo-san.” The girl hesitated in addressing the Shinigami woman who had created her.

“Well, maybe they resemble your touchan’s then? According to Tomo-san, the color is from him, isn’t that right?” Dina laid her hands on Mirai’s shoulders.

“…Maybe.” Mirai muttered, not really agreeing with her though. Dina pushed the thought away and pointed out what had begun bothering her in her daughter’s previous statement.

“Nee, Mirai-chan… Why aren’t you calling Tomo-san ‘kaachan’ anymore?”

“She doesn’t feel like mother anymore. I know that she is busy and she isn’t that good with being a parent but I… I’m not a child anymore. I don’t want to pretend that she means to me more than she actually does.” The preteen pushed her hair behind her ears and looked up at the mirror again. “But she hasn’t grasped it yet. Tomo-san… she is a scientist first, a Shinigami second, and a mother and a woman last. But mama… mama is my _okaa-san_ and a woman and my dearest person all at first.”

“Oh, Mirai-chan…” Dina embraced the girl who had begun crying. It meant a lot to her. To her and Mirai both. Mirai was rejecting Tomo’s maternal role and placing her as mere creator for her while addressing Dina with less childish way. “Arigatou…”

Mirai was growing up. Dina didn’t want to let go of her but she knew she would have to eventually. She only wished it wouldn’t be so soon.

* * *

“Let’s go to Rome.” Dina announced. Golden Week was approaching. They had never travelled far from Karakura aside from Dina and Kenji’s honeymoon that was spent at Okinawa and Dina’s college years when she visited Paris, but with Mirai they had never gone anywhere.

“Why Rome?” Kenji asked.

“History! Art! Inspiration! One week there and then back. Good chance to go now when Mirai-chan doesn’t have that much homework like she’ll have in high school.”

“Rome sounds nice.” Mirai smiled. “Maybe I’ll meet some Italian ghosts too.”

Mirai did meet ghosts. And made another friend ‘Kitsurubami’. And fought her first hollow.

**_“Distort, Sazanami!”_ **


	10. Kotobuki Mirai III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New friends with nicknames and Rome... and dancing... and...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very musical chapter here. While writing this I listened to Not Strong Enough from Apocalyptica, Classic by MKTO and finally Lambeth Walk.
> 
> If you guys want to know more about my song choices and thoughts please proceed to Fanfiction where I have this fic up with the same name and under the same penname too.

**Created Life from Death 10  
Kotobuki Mirai**

Despite what happened in October, Mirai found herself living on. She gained a new friend and trusted person in Yoruichi (not that the cat-woman ever introduced herself properly) and the incident had brought her and Ichigo closer in the end. Her extra-curricular lessons progressed well and kept her occupied where school didn’t manage to do so.

Mirai was happy. And when Tomo taught her to do the gigai maintenance on her own when she was twelve, things were even better. She could relax.

Frankly, nothing drastic happened in the following years aside from the fights in the streets but even they started to be commonplace. Same faces, same tricks… Boring.

Then Mirai made a new friend.

* * *

It was a pure coincidence. Mirai had been scrolling through the selection of a local manga store when she met her. And the first thing that Mirai noticed of her was her eyes. Such a brilliant blue. Just like…

“Shinbashi-iro…” She whispered. But it was quite quiet and empty in the shop so the other female heard her quite well.

“Excuse me?” Delicate brows frowned behind black-framed glasses.

“Gomenasai.” Mirai blushed. “I just… Your eye color is so unique… And I just…” She stammered while the other just stared at her.

“It’s… alright. Weird but… alright.” The other female shrugged, face impassive, looking then at the magazine’s she had been browsing before the interruption.

“Umm… If I may ask… Which school are you going to? I don’t think I recognize your uniform. Of course, I don’t know the schools in Naruki-shi that well but…” Mirai forced herself to stop talking. She knew very well who this… woman was but… It was fun pretending that she didn’t. And she also sort of liked collecting people.

“I don’t… I don’t go to school. I wear uniform because I like it.”

“Oh? That’s… alright. Weird but alright.”

The woman blinked at her and quirked a smile.

“I’m Risa. What’s your name?”

“I’m Mirai. But… you can call me Asagi if you want to.” Mirai smiled, fingering nervously at her bracelet. It was weird, she hadn't felt this nervous with any other canon character this far. Maybe it was because Lisa was a really smart character and she was the first one Mirai approached without the intention of pulling spiritual world into conversation and background context.

And maybe it was also because Lisa was quite attractive too and seemed to have strong and witty sarcastic humor. Mirai approved.

“Asagi? Where does that name come from?” Quirk of an eyebrow. Mirai smiled widely.

“Saa… I wonder. It’s a nickname bestowed upon me though… And since I’m probably going to call you Shinbashi-iro anyways, I thought to give you an alternative.”

“I see… Nice to meet you anyways, Asagi-chan.”

“You too, Shinbashi-iro-san!”

It was a strange camaraderie between them. They only occasionally met and each time was random for them. They would talk about the manga they read and anime they watched or even games they played, yet sometimes they would just sit on the bench outside the store and read in silence.

* * *

“Asagi-chan? In a bit of hurry today?” Lisa spoke up when Mirai was already heading for the cashier.

“Shinbashi-san?” She’d dropped ‘iro’ from the name at the woman’s request a week back. “I didn’t notice you, sorry.”

“It’s alright. We haven’t seen in a while.”

“I had exams. Didn’t have time to come here or see friends in general? They’re over though so I was heading to park to meet with a friend of mine.” Mirai explained and lifted a violin case. “We play together.”

“I see. I didn’t know you played the violin… What do you usually play?”

 _“We usually talk about manga more than our lives…”_ Mirai mentally deadpanned but explained then. “After I dropped out of the lessons I’ve played more anime music but I like classical too. My friend prefers classical music and symphonic metal.”

“Sounds interesting. Would you mind if I were to accompany you? I’m curious to hear how good you are.”

Mirai thought for a while. In one hand… awkward and her deceit might get revealed. In the other hand…

“Why not? I got a feeling that you already know him though.” After all, there was a certain flavor that she could feel from Lisa, Rose, Kensei and Mashiro all. Something that she would’ve sensed even without having her foreknowledge. And Mashiro? She’d once appeared at the dojo to bug Kensei but had been tossed out by the both ‘Ken’s. Afterwards the students had made a banner to be hung from the wall which read: _‘Kenji-sensei and Kensei-shishou rule at this Kendo-dojo. Do not cause mess.’_

Mirai had taken a photo of it. (And the only reason why Kensei was ‘shishou’ instead of ‘sensei’ was because no one wanted to make it rhyme and Kensei was in the end much sterner and stricter than Kenji.) She had also asked who the green-haired ‘Kamen Yaiba’ was. She had been told to give her a nickname.

Thus Mashiro became Moegi-chan.

But back to present day. Mirai led Lisa to the park and to their usual area. At one point, Lisa’s head lifted a bit higher, probably sensing Rose ahead but trying to ignore him.

“Bara-san! I brought a friend with me!” Mirai waved when the bench they usually met at was in sight.

“Asagi-chan. Long time no see.” Rose waved back, glancing at Lisa but keeping his amusement to himself. Mostly. He probably guessed that Mirai was currently trolling the woman because there was no way she couldn’t have noticed the reiatsu Lisa had.

“Do you have any new notes?” Mirai asked.

“I have some. But why don’t you introduce your friend here?”

“Oh, this is Shinbashi-san. We’ve known for a while. Shinbashi-san, this is Bara-san. I’ve known him since I was five.”

“I see. Nice to meet you… Bara-san.” Lisa righted her glasses with a quirked eyebrow.

“You too.” Rose smiled. “I wonder if you’ve heard of this song, Asagi-chan. It’s from a foreign band called Apocalyptica…”

* * *

Rome. Golden Week. Nice and warm weather which wasn’t too hot nor too cold. And with lot to see in the city and great food, it was an excellent vacation destination. Mirai enjoyed herself immensely. And what’s best?

The hotel had a bar downstairs with a dance floor, live band or dj every night and no age restriction aside from at the bar counter where the IDs where checked for certain drinks. But Mirai wasn’t there for drinks and alcohol. She was for music and dance.

And she wanted a dance partner. Today was her fourteenth birthday. And she really liked this song.

**_Hey! where’s the drum?_ **

**“Excuse me…”** She approached a man by the bar counter. Her English was slightly accented but comprehensible. **“Would you dance with me?”**

The man glanced at her, listened for the rhythm of the song and…

“One dance. This isn’t bad… for pop song.” He replied in Japanese.

“Yeah, I can see you’re a fifties person… Prefer Jazz?” Mirai ‘guessed’.

 **_Ooh girl you’re shining_ **  
**_Like a 5th avenue diamond_ **  
**_And they don’t make you like they used to_ **  
**_You’re never going out of style_ **

“Something like that.” The man grinned and led Mirai to the dance floor.

 _**Ooh pretty baby** _  
_**This world might have gone crazy** _  
_**The way you saved me,** _  
_**Who could blame me** _  
_**When I just wanna make you smile** _

Mirai had fun. And the man could lead well. They were both smiling. And thankfully there was more people on the floor too even though Mirai wouldn’t have cared for the stares. She was on a vacation. And on vacation you had fun.

 _**I wanna thrill you like Michael** _  
_**I wanna kiss you like Prince** _  
_**Let’s get it on like Marvin Gaye** _  
_**Like Hathaway write a song for you like this** _

He twirled her around and made her laugh when her skirt made a horizontal circle. But that’s why she wore leggings beneath it.

 **_You’re over my head_ **  
**_I’m out of my mind_ **  
**_Thinking I was born in the wrong time_ **  
**_One of a kind, living in a world gone plastic_ **  
**_Baby you’re so classic_ **  
**_Baby you’re so classic_ **  
**_Baby you,_ **  
**_Baby you’re so classic_ **

And so on the song went. And eventually ended. He led Mirai out of the dance floor to the bar where they sat on the stools.

“Thank you! I had fun.” She smiled.

“You’re welcome. Not bad moves for a kid.” He grinned back and ordered a drink.

“Thanks. I’ve had some dance classes at the theater okaa-san works at.”

“I guess you are with your parents here then.”

“They are at their room. Should come here soon though.” Mirai ordered a soda from the man behind the counter. “I’m Asagi.”

“Nice to meet you Asagi. My name is Hirako Shinji.” Yeah, she knew. That’s why she approached him despite her surprise.

“I think I’ll call you Kitsurubami. Like your hair color.” The girl decided.

“Oh? Do you give nicknames to everyone you meet?”

“Only the ones I actually like. Sometimes though I give nicknames to people I haven’t met yet. That’s how I got to know Shinbashi-san. She had just so beautiful eyes.” Mirai gushed. “And I’ve never met Moegi-chan properly either but because Kamenozoki-san didn’t tell me her name, I had to come up with a nickname. Kanzo-iro-kun likes the nicknames I give to people and uses them with me.”

“Is Asagi a nickname then?” Shinji drawled.

“Yes. Okaa-san has said that I shouldn’t give my own name to strangers.” Mirai smiled before narrowing her eyes mischievously. “One can never know what sorts of intentions the other has.”

The Visored sitting next to her gave a pause, looking at her face searchingly but it was gone soon after Mirai blinked and looked back in confusion.

“Is there something in my face?”

“No… I just thought your expression reminded me of something.”

“Was it… my eyes?” Mirai asked hesitantly. It worried her. The shape of her eyes. Where did it come from? And if Shinji had reacted to the change of her expression... Actually reacted with hesitation and hadn't managed to conceal it… Then what was it in them that bothered the man?

She never got her answer though when Dina and Kenji arrived to the bar and dragged her off to find a nice restaurant for dinner, leaving Shinji watching after them thoughtfully.

* * *

Mirai met Shinji at the bar during the next nights too. Always dragged him off to dance for one song and then talked with him by the counter until her parents came to get her. The topic of her eyes didn’t come up again but now Mirai took care to avoid certain expressions that caused her eyes narrow in calculating manner. It was hard but she had found during the years that she was a good actor so she managed.

And during the nights she dreamt more and more of the stage of the theater with flooded audience. Sometimes she could see shifting curtains in the balcony, like someone was there. Whispers were louder than they were when she was seven but not yet completely eligible. It was like static was mixed in them.

“Are you there?” Mirai asked one night, sitting on the edge of the stage and letting her feet sink into the water. The orchestra pit was beneath her feet. “Are you… my zanpakuto spirit?”

The curtains shifted. Water rippled.

“This all is a clue for me, right? I’m on the stage. On the World’s Stage. And the audience… is affected by what I do, right? I’m not a butterfly causing hurricanes. I’m a ripple, causing bigger ripples.”

There was a chuckle and a flash of white clothing with a red ribbon trailing behind. Hint of golden yellow too. Mirai smiled. She was close. Even though she hadn’t actively been trying to figure out the mystery behind her theater and whispers in there during the years, she could feel she was getting closer.

* * *

Ghosts in Rome spoke almost exclusively in Italian. Unless they were ghosts of tourists. But in general, it was like they had reverted to their first language. but that brought up a question who handled the plus souls outside Japan and if they went to Soul Society or some other place. Maybe she had to ask Yoruichi when she got back. The cat was most useful source of information concerning the afterlife.

And with ghosts and historical places willed with spirit energy, also came Hollows.

Mirai shuddered when the scream rang in the air. Rome’s reishi density was thinner than Karakura’s so the Hollow could be picked up much easier. It was right above the hotel. Mirai looked at the ceiling. She needed to act. She hadn’t sensed any Shinigami during her stay and had begun to doubt they actively patrolled area so far away from the juureichi. She had been about the step into the bar but instead turned on her heels and run to the elevator. On the way up, she texted her parents to inform them what was going on and please stay calm and seek shelter.

The trip to the roof was agonizingly slow but thankfully there was no one at the rooftop pool or pool bar. It meant she could leave her gigai here.

Mirai removed her bracelets with care and placed them on the ground. For a second she enjoyed the feeling of her own reiatsu settling without the restraints but then focused on the present. The hollow was just twenty meters ahead and three above her. And it had sensed her. Mirai focused her reiatsu onto a single point and used it as a key to get out of her gigai which slumped on the tiled floor next to her bracelets. Mirai lifted the empty fake body to a deck chair and snapped the bracelets into the same wrist before jumping forward to stand on the ledge surrounding the rooftop. She glanced down and gulped. While she had mastered using reishi as steps and shunpo in general, she had never been this high.

 _“No hesitation… Be strong.”_ Came a whisper to her ears. Wind blew through her blond hair and soothed her nerves.

“I will.” Mirai said resolutely and stared up at the hollow. They measured each other. The hollow wasn’t as big as some that Mirai had seen in Karakura. But it had a weasel-like mask and narrow body. Meaning it was probably speed oriented.

Now Mirai was quick. She was currently quicker than Ichigo who hadn’t had his growth spurt yet. But her only opponents thus far had been Ichigo, Yoruichi (who was impossible to catch even she was going easy on them) and Rose (who hadn’t participated on that part of training that much but was still a captain), and so she had no real measure of her own speed against real opponents.

“I have to use trickery. Who knows what else that hollow can do.” Mirai tensed…

And dashed to the left when the hollow speed at her previous spot, stopping far away from the hotel.

“Okay, it has troubles in braking. And probably in turning too.” And she was moving and gaining higher ground. She could sense the hollow following her. Mirai changed direction and had a direct line of attack at the hollow’s back. She pointed her fore and middle fingers at the hollow, like a pistol.

“Hado no yon: Byakurai!”

The lightning hit the hollow’s hind legs and it let out a wail. But it didn’t stop. Instead it used its tail to turn around in the spot and _jump_.

“Holy-!” Mirai just barely dodged the swipe of its claws. Thankfully it didn’t seem intelligent (and strong) enough to be capable of speech yet. “Sho!” She pointed at the hollow, pushing it away from her. She took a couple of quick steps to get out of its range as well. Her arm stung. The hollow was using its reiatsu to give itself a bigger bulk that wouldn’t affect aerodynamics. It also meant that the claws had longer range. Mirai looked at her arm. She had claw marks on her upper arm.

_“Focus!”_

Mirai dodged the next imitation of the bullet train by stopping holding herself up in the air and letting herself freefall a couple of meters. It was terrifying but gave her the seconds she needed to collect herself.

“Kunrinsha yo! Chiniku no kamen, banshō, habataki, hito no na o kansu mono yo! Shōnetsu to sōran, umihedate sakamaki minami e to ho o susume yo!” She chanted and focused. “Hado no sanjuu-ichi: Shakkaho!”

It hit, disintegrating half of the hollows right side. But as long as the mask existed and the hollow had all of its legs, it wasn’t defeated.

“Sai!” It was a relief that she didn’t need incantation on any kidou spell under the ranking ten but she wasn’t sure how well they’d work on that hollow no matter how weak it seemed to be.

And to prove the point, the hollow jumped right at her and swiped her with its _tail_. Arms/front legs were bound but naturally the hint legs that were stronger ones for the hollow, allowed it to move.

“Ugh…” Mirai flew through the air, clutching her stomach. Since she wasn’t the way towards some building, she wasn’t worried about stopping just yet. She needed to catch her breath anyways. And hope she hadn’t broken any of her ribs.

_“Call me, Mirai-san.”_

“Huh?”

The whisper was clearly male voice. Young male voice but it couldn’t be confused with female.

_“You have the clues. You are so close. Call my name. I know you have it figured out even if you haven’t fully grasped it yet.”_

Mirai opened her eyes. (When had she closed them?) The hollow was running towards her bipedal. It looked ridiculous but with the mouth of the mask fully open it wasn’t a laughing matter. It was planning on swallowing her whole!

“D-…” The phrase was just on top of her tongue. Mirai stopped midair and stretched out her hand. **_“Distort, Sazanami!”_**

A comforting weight settled upon her palm but Mirai didn’t have time to admire her zanpakuto. She could feel the shikai state remained as a sword even if didn’t seem to be a katana anymore. And when the hollow was close enough, she poured everything she’d learnt about using her arm and muscles when swinging a sword on kendo lessons. Steady hold of the handle with both of her hands and one smooth strike beginning from above her head and ending with the sword pointing downwards.

The mask went neatly in half and the rest of the hollow disintegrated. Mirai was breathing heavily and blackness was creeping at the edges of her vision. She needed to get onto solid ground before she…

Sazanami vanished. Mirai fell onto her knees but her reishi platform disappeared from beneath her feet just when she was about to collapse completely. She was falling.

* * *

“Geez…” Shinji muttered from his perch on the roof of the hotel he was staying at. Behind him was the girl’s parents sitting next to their adoptive daughter’s gigai. They had glasses on their nose and had witnessed the entire fight. “I’ll be back.” The Visored Leader stated and speeded after the falling figure of a fourteen-year-old girl.

When he’d first met her, he had suspected she was hiding something but it wasn’t until he’d seen her run for the elevators right after the hollow’s scream, he’d gotten his answers. He’d followed her and found the girl’s parents there, watching the fight and but unable to act, humans as they were. With a couple of pointed questions, he’d gotten the story out of the couple and then settled to watch, ready to intervene if needed.

The girl did well, considering that this was her first real fight. Someone had obviously been training her. Probably one of the friends she’d mentioned with her silly nicknames but always evaded specifying their looks or personalities.

And manifesting shikai in mid-fight. That was something impressive. Of course, souls and humans alike performed better under duress but considering how things were traditionally done at Soul Society, shikai was generally found through numerous meditation lessons. Though what did traditions matter with this girl, he mused as he caught her in his arms.

But coming in direct contact with her reiatsu… Shinji froze. It was indeed like a regular shinigami’s, traces of both parents in it even though they were mixed to become something new. But there was a third trace. Very faint but woven all through her, like it was the one that had knit her two parts together.

 _“Was it… my eyes?”_ She had asked when Shinji had reacted to her expression. It meant that she had noticed something wrong too. And according to her human parents, she knew very well her biological mother and creator but had no idea of father. Shinji called bullshit on that. If they really lived in Karakura, there was no way that Mirai hadn’t run to Kisuke at least once. And he’d recognized the scientist’s nervous manners in her general behavior. Wide-eyed confusion and embarrassed smile were all Kisuke. And the girl knew it too which was why she was bothered about the shape of her own eyes which didn’t fit the mold.

Shinji landed onto the roof and laid Mirai on the deckchair next to the one with her gigai.

“I can fix her arm and help her back to her gigai, but continue from there on.” He informed the couple.

Maybe it was time to return to Karakura. To keep an eye on things anyways.

* * *

Mirai looked at her zanpakuto. It was shaped like Chinese sword _jian_. It was beautiful.

Straight and narrow silver blade. Golden hilt and pommel, with the handle in between wrapped in white. And a red tassel tangling from the pommel.

“What can I do with… you, Sazanami?” She asked her zanpakuto spirit who had not joined her on the stage. He had inky hair that was tinted toward blue. He was wearing a white jacket with golden buttons and the inside of it was golden silk too which was shown with rolled up sleeves. Black belt with golden clasp and katana hanging from it. Grey, straight pants and black heelless shoes with golden shin-guards over them. Not to mention the leather cuffs on his wrists and the red ribbon wrapped around his forehead with the ends trailing after him in an invisible wind.

Frankly, he looked like Asougi Kazuma from Dai Gyakuten Saiban -videogame.

“A lot.” Sazanami smiled. “I’ve waited for you such a long time. It’s great to finally reach you, Mirai-san.”

“The same. The same.” Mirai smiled back.

* * *

When Mirai awoke, she was lying on the bed in her parent’s hotelroom. She had no recollection of how she could’ve gotten there, but she had an inkling. There was not many choices after all.

“Kitsurubami-san?” She greeted the man next evening.

“Asagi-chan.” Shinji nodded back.

“One last dance?”

The band was playing Lambeth Walk.

“Why not?”

They didn’t talk about what had happened on the previous night. They didn’t talk about what they might know about each other.

“Be careful.” Shinji told her when they parted ways.

“I will. I have a partner who has my back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't give me grief over the possibility of Mirai's shikai release. It will be explained in the next chapter.


	11. Nakatomi Tomo II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was a miracle someone discovered the secret only now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got to write Soul Society and some shinigami there! Yay! And soon I get to post the first canon arc here too. Currently I'm taking a break from the actual writing because of the deadline for my school work is next week but afterwards I hope to start with a new chapters again.

**Created Life from Death 11  
Nakatomi Tomo**

The past years had gone well. Tomo had progressed with her projects concerning reiatsu suppression, concealment and enhancing. Mirai had remained safe and hidden. Life had gone on during the past decade and some. Everything was good.

A hell butterfly fluttered in. Tomo let it land on her finger.

_“Ninth Seat Nakatomi-san, please meet with Ukitake-taichou at the Thirteenth Division’s headquarters.”_

Tomo frowned. What was going on? There shouldn’t have been any problems with her last report on the world of living. A thought crossed her mind but she banished it before it could make her nervous. Nevertheless, she needed to get going. As nice as Ukitake was, there was no reason for her to keep a captain waiting.

* * *

Tomo locked her private lab tight and made her way to the gates separating the Research Division from the rest of Seireitei. On the way out she met with another captain.

“Aizen-taichou, what brings you to the Research Division?” Tomo had always liked the Fifth Division captain. Well, about everyone liked him. He had first handled the previous captain Hirako well and then risen to head the division by himself. He was kind and considerate and had time for anyone who approached him.

“The previous patrol to Rukongai brought some samples to be identified. When I heard the results were out I decided to come myself to see to them.” The brunette captain smiled.

“Ah, yes. I heard about it. Akon-san was talking about a hollow with strange abilities. Kurotsuchi-taichou took on dissecting of the samples himself.” Tomo nodded. “I won’t be keeping you then. I have also a meeting to get to.”

“I see. How is your research going then, Nakatomi-san? Near breakthrough?”

“I believe so. Don’t tell anyone, but I confiscated a certain cloak from captain’s quarters before Kurotsuchi-taichou took the office. While I’ve been doing my own concealment research, I’ve tried to unravel the mechanics of that cloak too. I haven’t succeeded yet though.” Tomo laughed embarrassedly. She knew she could trust Aizen. He wouldn’t tell anyone. It was an unspoken rule in the Twelfth Division that Urahara Kisuke wasn’t spoken about, and in Seireitei in general, the Hollowfication incident was kept quiet about too. After all it had been almost a century since then.

“I wish you luck in your endeavor. The previous captain was genius in whatever he decided to do. I can’t imagine your work being easy.”

“No, definitely not!” The woman smiled. “But it has been enjoyable. Some of my concealment equipment has already been field-tested and it has helped the patrols evade hollows when they’ve been carrying wounded.”

“That sound wonderful, Nakatomi-san.”

“Thank you Aizen-taichou.”

They bid each other goodbye then, Tomo hurrying towards the Thirteenth Division.

* * *

“Ukitake-taichou? You wished to meet me?” Tomo stepped into the office at the gesture of the Third Seat Kotetsu Kiyone. Apparently the other Third Seat was wherever like the silence had suggested when Tomo had first stepped onto the division grounds.

“Ah yes, I had Kiyone send a summons.” The white-haired captain laid down some of his papers and got up from his chair. “Follow me.”

They made their way to the porch surrounding the office and looking over the training grounds. There was a low table set with some papers and a tea set. At Ukitake’s gesture, they sat down on the opposite sides of the table and had tea poured for them. The captain took a sip and seemed to be considering a while how to phrase his thoughts.

“Three weeks ago there was a surge of reiatsu in Europe and again last week in Japan. The latter one coincided with your trip to the world of living yet had no mention of it in your report.”

Tomo’s hand froze in mid-motion. She knew about the surges. How could she not when the latter came when she had Mirai demonstrate her shikai release. It was currently a mystery for her how she’d managed to materialize her zanpakuto on her first try. It was rare but not unheard of. Before the Shinigami Academy and systematic release of asauchi, there were individual who could materialize heir zanpakuto without it. But it always happened in Soul Society where the concentration of reishi was high enough to do so. Moreover… Tomo had believed that Mirai’s artificial nature wouldn’t have produced a zanpakuto for her. After all, Kurotsuchi Nemu didn’t have a zanpakuto either. The asauchi she carried was just for a show.

“I was in spiritually dense area, it is possible that the reishi in the air prevented me from sensing anything.” The Twelfth Division had no information about the latter surge. But they weren’t the only ones observing the world of living. And Juureichi was Division Thirteenth’s purview. Tomo took a sip of her tea, trying to calm herself down.

“Your denreishinki was right next to the surge.” Ukitake cut in. “We have records of it. I had my sixth seat investigate and talk with the local Shinigami. They found nothing. So I’m asking you to explain before I bring this matter to your captain who can then do with the surge as he wishes.”

 Tomo’s hands felt like lead. She placed her teacup back on the table. Scenarios were turning in her head. Say nothing and hope for best? Say nothing, run, grab Mirai and hide? Tell the truth and hope for best?

“What will you do with the information I give you?” She asked.

“It depends what you can tell. Something has been in Karakura-cho for a long time and has evaded the patrolling Shinigami there. Considering the reiatsu spikes, it has considerable amount of energy and we need to ascertain whether or not it will affect humans of Soul Society itself.”

“Her. Not ‘it’, her.” Tomo snapped, surprising herself and the captain both. Ukitake gave her a look that said ‘go on’ and the woman sighed. She reached into the folds of her shihakusho and drew out an old photo of Mirai she’d been given by Dina. It was from time when Mirai still had blonde hair and still called her ‘kaachan’. She slid the photo across the table. “Kotobuki Mirai. My daughter.”

“Your daughter?” Ukitake picked up the photo and scrutinized it. “With whom?”

“Technically no one. She was created in my laboratory, hidden from everyone. Once ‘born’, I realized that she wouldn’t have a future in Seireitei or even in Rukongai and relocated her into the World of Living with an infertile but spiritually aware couple. She is fourteen years old now.” Tomo explained curtly.

“’Technically no one’ you said? But still someone?”

“Urahara Kisuke. There was a reiatsu sample from him in his quarters that I fetched after his arrest and exile. I took the other samples too but have never used them.” Might as well confess everything. Ukitake was another trustworthy captain despite being the former student of Yamamoto. “I’ve been checking with Mirai regularly to observe her growth and make sure she was alright.”

“I see…” Ukitake had surprisingly solemn expression. “I’m technically required to report this to Yamamoto-soutaichou and the Twelfth Division but…”

Tomo held her breath.

“What do you say about an exchange? You get me in contact with your daughter and in exchange I keep this quiet… From everyone else.”

Sometimes it was easy to forget that Ukitake was one of the oldest and strongest captains in Gotei 13. He was so kind and open and relatively young-looking too. But then he showed the side that had allowed him to rise through the ranks despite his illness.

Frankly, Tomo had no choice.

“I agree.”

* * *

“Tomo-san?” Mirai blinked. “How come you are back so soon? Has something happened?”

“Yes, I suppose so…” Tomo sighed. “Don’t tell Dina-san and Kenji-san but… your existence was discovered. Only one person knows.” She added hastily when Mirai seemed to be starting panicking. Hmm… Maybe she shouldn’t have frightened her as a little girl that much.

“W-What happened?”

“The reiatsu surges of your first shikai releases were caught by the Thirteenth Division. I had to explain them to Ukitake Juushiro-taichou-san before he took the matter to my division.”

“And?”

“He has promised to keep quiet in exchange of you observing the situation in Karakura-cho and reporting directly to him.” Tomo gave the girl the newest model of denreishinki. “This connects only to him. No one else can contact you unless you know their numbers.”

“I see…” The girl hesitantly took the ‘phone’ and placed it onto her desk. “I’ll do my best so no further actions are warranted here.”

“Thank you.” Tomo sighed in relief. “I’m sorry, Mirai-chan. For everything. I’ve caused so much pain for you even when I’ve only tried to protect you.”

“It’s alright Tomo-san. You tried your best. Okaa-san has explained me a lot what different women go through in motherhood and… You tried. It could’ve been worse, it could’ve been better too. But you tried and that’s what matters. So I forgive you.”

Tomo wasn’t an emotional person. Or physical person. But she couldn’t help herself. She drew her daughter into a hug. Because even though she wasn’t Mirai’s ‘mother’ anymore, Mirai was still her ‘daughter’. And honestly? It was fine. It was perfectly fine.

“I’m so proud of you, Mirai-chan. Prouder than you even know.”

But everything had to come to the end eventually. Tomo needed to leave and Mirai needed to prepare for the next schoolday.

“I need to go now. Ukitake-taichou is covering for my absence but couldn’t give me much time here. This is off-the-books trip after all.”

“I understand. Just go now. I’ll be fine.” Mirai smiled. Tomo didn’t ever want that smile disappear in tears.

* * *

Aside from her rare visits to the world of living, Tomo didn’t have much contact with Mirai anymore. According to Ukitake she was doing fine and since Tomo hadn’t been dragged off anywhere for questioning, she was inclined to believe him.

“She calls me Shironeri.” The captain told once when Tomo was gathering inter-divisional paperwork to be carted off to her captain.

“Ah, she must really like you then. Only those closest to her gain nicknames to my understanding.” Tomo replied cordially. After that one meeting, she had been warier around the deceptively kind captain. She really didn’t fancy being blackmailed again. By anyone.

And if Ukitake noticed it, he didn’t complain or mention it. Maybe it was for his own sake though. If his third seats happened to hear him to complain about anything… the resulting chaos simply wasn’t worth the effort.

The next time she finally met her daughter properly was around two years later, when she and her friends broke into Soul Society.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought it would be funny if Tomo was more wary of Ukitake than of Aizen...


	12. Kurosaki Ichigo II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was expected... until it wasn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a nice chapter to write.

**Created Life from Death 12  
Kurosaki Ichigo**

There was a knock on the window. It was late in the evening and sun had barely set. Thirteen-year-old Kurosaki Ichigo sat up on his bed and looked outside.

“Asagi?” He asked when he recognized the figure perched on the windowsill. His best friend was clad in her ‘magic-cloak’ and her blonde hair was peeking out from underneath her hood. In the faint light of the streetlamps, she seemed paler than usual.

Ichigo opened the window.

“What’s going on?” While it wasn’t the first time Mirai visited him like this, there was something different about it this time.

“A… A captain found out about my existence.” The girl spoke. “Tomo-san just visited me.”

Ichigo frowned. If a captain knew about Mirai and Tomo had visited her, why was she still here? Why hadn’t she run away already? He voiced the thought. Mirai chuckled.

“Ukitake-taicho is kind and has fondness for children. He offered to keep my existence a secret if I report to him about general activity in Karakura.”

“I see… How much are you going to report then?”

“I’m not sure. Tomo-san gave me a denreishinki.” She pulled out a flip-phone from underneath her cloak. “It connects only to him and he will call me when he has a chance. Because he is a captain, he is quite busy.”

“But in the end you don’t know much about him, right?” The orange-haired boy concluded. “Why don’t we ask Neko-san then? About captains in general.”

“…Sounds good. And… I think we should keep this a secret.” Mirai slipped the phone back into the folds of her cloak that seemed to be swallowing her. “I don’t want Neko-san and Bara-san to worry. Or otou-san and okaa-san…”

“Sounds good.” There were steps in the corridor outside Ichigo’s room. “Let’s talk more tomorrow at school.”

“Y-Yeah…” Mirai nodded and vanished with a swift shunpo. Ichigo closed the window and sighed. The steps stopped by outside his room but continued then after a moment.

“Paranoid Goat-Face…” The boy muttered and laid down to finally get some sleep.

Sleep evaded him though, his thoughts churning and focusing on his best friend. Mirai had been a great help during the years and Ichigo had helped her back whenever he could. Even though she seemed to be grasping most of things faster than he did, she never gloated it and always offered a helping hand. Just during the past week when she’d been on a holiday, she’d managed to call her zanpakuto and even used a shikai against a hollow. It was strange and even Mirai had found it odd even though she hadn’t at first in her adrenaline-filled haze even thought about the matter. Neko-san, after observing Mirai release the shikai again in more controlled environment (the cat and Ichigo both had been present when Mirai had demonstrated to Tomo even though the former had been hidden), had provided an answer.

_“Even though you figured out the named and command for your zanpakuto, doesn’t mean that you can automatically use its powers. You still need to earn that right by working together with the spirit and getting to know each other. As for materialization… originally the asauchi didn’t exist. While it was a long time ago and only the oldest of clans have the records of it, in the beginning the Shinigami discovered their zanpakuto through deep meditation and times of great duress. In the reishi filled environment of Soul Society where everything already is made of it, materialization is entirely possible. The only thing that makes your case unusual, is that you managed the materialization in the world of living.”_

Ichigo had then asked if he could get his own zanpakuto too somehow. According to Neko-san, it was currently impossible. Ichigo might have Shinigami blood in him but his mortal flesh would restrict him from getting his soul sword. Until then he could learn how to use his reiatsu in other ways and train in kendo. Which he did. And had already become quite good during the years.

But considering the newest turn of events, Ichigo wasn’t sure if it was enough. If he was strong enough to protect Mirai.

 _“I protect you and you protect me, and together we protect anything and anyone we deem worthwhile.”_ Mirai had declared years ago to Ichigo. And they had worked along that oath.

* * *

Next morning Ichigo got up and went downstairs for breakfast. Even though his father frequently annoyed him, the boy never skipped breakfast. Not only Yuzu became upset if it was her turn to cook it (breakfast and making bento were a group effort between the kids while Yuzu had strong-armed herself into the sole dinner-maker), but Ichigo also be hungry well before lunch time.

While eating, Ichigo mulled over what all he should be doing during that week. Talk with Mirai was the first thing in the agenda. They probably would need to talk with Tatsuki too. Find out more about the Captains from Neko-san. Go to kendo-classes at Kotobuki-dojo. And… Ichigo grimaced. Mirai had told him to show up at the theater next Thursday so they’d go over some dance moves and steps.

In general, Ichigo didn’t mind dancing. It added his flexibility and gave workout to some other muscles in different manner than karate or kendo did. And the step sequences they learnt could be used in shunpo and hoho in general. It was the people at the theater that bothered him. The over-enthusiastic actresses who insisted he was cute and wanted to dress him up. (To be fair, Mirai endured the same treatment. But she actually liked dressing up and acting out whatever role they gave her.)

But so, busy week coming up. Especially with Karin having a game during the weekend too.

* * *

It was during lunch break when Mirai’s denreishinki rang. They had been in the classroom eating their lunch with some other students and had observed that the others couldn’t hear the phone.

“Let’s go to the roof. It’s such a nice weather.” Ichigo suggested and they hurried off. The good thing was that they had only one flight of stairs to go as their classroom was in the third floor.

“Hello?” Mirai answered to the phone as soon as the door was closed behind them and they’d noted that no one else was on the roof.

 _“Am I speaking with Kotobuki Mirai-san?”_ A mild male voice asked. Ichigo pressed his ear against the phone to hear also the other end of the conversation.

“Y-Yes. This is her.” The girl replied nervously.

_“Good to hear from you, Kotobuki-san. My name is Ukitake Juushiro. I’m the captain of the Thirteenth Division of Gotei 13.”_

“Yes. Tomo-san told me about you and this situation.”

_“Then you know what I’m asking.”_

“I’ll report to you about any anomalies in Karakura-cho and in exchange you won’t tell anyone about my existence, thus preventing me from being experimented on, put into Maggots Nest or killed.” Mirai replied frankly. Ichigo looked at her face and had a feeling she would be reporting a lot less than what this Ukitake guy was expecting. Because Ichigo himself, and various of their friends were definitely anomalies.

Silence followed Mirai’s statement.

 _“Yes, that sounds about right.”_ There was a hint of resignation in the man’s voice. Ichigo frowned. Why did the captain sound like he was disagreeing with Mirai?

There was nothing of substance talked about then. Ukitake informed that he would call Mirai once a month on the first Saturday of the said month to hear the report and otherwise there wouldn’t be any contact unless agreed beforehand.

Mirai slipped the phone into the pocket of her school uniform. Her face was perfectly composed.

“Well, this is not the end of the world.” She stated. “Let’s go back to the class.”

Ichigo nodded, still frowning. “We’re telling Tatsuki about this, right?”

“On the first opportunity that we have.”

* * *

The following year passed in relative peace.

Mirai made her reports. She started calling Ukitake ‘Shironeri’ (unbleached silk) so if anyone happened to overhear them, they wouldn’t know that she was in contact with a captain.

Ichigo looked after his sisters. The two of them took the twins to see their first Hollow so they’d recognize them and their screams and reiatsu in the future and thus could get to safety.

But overall nothing exciting happened. Mirai practiced with Sazanami to get a feel of both the sealed and unsealed state of it (Or him? She said the spirit was male but it was still a sword, right?). Ichigo didn’t know what the unsealed state’s special abilities were and Mirai remained tightlipped about it. When the boy had asked Neko-san and Bara-san, they had said that the girl hadn’t revealed anything to them either.

It was frustrating.

* * *

Next spring, Ichigo made a new friend. On his own even. While he’d had friends before, most of them he’d met through Mirai or then he simply hadn’t been that close to them because of his (and Mirai’s) growing reputation.

But Ichigo had a new friend. An extremely loyal friend at that. Sado Yasutora was strong and silent. Contemplative and above average in intelligence. And he got a delinquent’s reputation when hanging out with Ichigo and beating up gangsters. And Ichigo really wanted to know how Mirai managed to avoid such reputation. Maybe it was the way she managed to blend in among the other students while Ichigo and Sado stood out due former’s hair color and latter’s height and heavy tan.

With Sado – ‘Chad’ – Ichigo was appropriately distracted during the next year and it was clear to him that Mirai was taking that opportunity to hone her skills with their various teachers.

Cheater.

* * *

It was April. The cherry trees were blossoming. New school year was starting. Ichigo, Mirai and Sado all attended Karakura High. Tatsuki and her friend Orihime were going to start there too.

Ichigo and Mirai were standing in front of the class rosters. There were four classes of first years starting.

“We both got to class 1-3.” Ichigo smirked. “Lucky us.”

“And look! Chad-kun and Tatsuki-chan are with us too!” Mirai pointed the two names listed. There were going to be thirteen boys and thirteen girls on their class. It appeared to be same size than class 1-1 which had 12-14 ratio but smaller than 1-2 and 1-4 which respectively had 14-14 and 15-13 students. “I wonder if our class is a bit smaller because it has bunch of delinquents stuffed into it.” The girl continued cheerily.

“Oi…” The orange-head protested weakly. “It’s not our fault that people are idiots.”

“Of course not. And you better not be lumping me with you. I have a great reputation.”

“Aside from the fact that people buy ‘revenges’ from you?” Ichigo deadpanned. Mirai laughed sheepishly.

“Oh, you heard about that then…”

“Of course I did. And it doesn’t even matter which school or work they are going into, as long as they give you a good and true reason for the revenge, you will enact it.” He glared at his best friend despite knowing it would have no effect on her.

“I was bored!” The girl exclaimed. “And it gives me good pocket money for snacks and manga.”

Ichigo sighed. The ‘revenge service’ had began during the past year and he’d only heard about it from Tatsuki who’d asked Mirai to get a revenge on some girls that had been bullying one Inoue Orihime. Apparently the girls had gotten their hair cut unevenly by what seemed to be ‘abnormally strong wind’. Ichigo knew otherwise though. It was severely toned down Tenran with Mirai in her spirit form using scissors.

Well, she humiliated bullies, Ichigo beat them down. Each of their own.

“Let’s go to see where the homeroom is.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to wait for Chad-kun?”

“Nah, he’ll turn up soon. There is no need to hurry anywhere today.”

* * *

But of course the plans don’t go that way. They met Sado in the entrance hall after checking out the classroom and then…

“Eh? Who’re you?” Ichigo scowled. It was his default face whenever he was facing people who he did not consider friends.

“You! Kurosaki Ichigo! You will pay for what you’ve done! You and Sado both!”

“You still didn’t tell me who you are.”

 “My… so many thugs here… I would’ve thought that the police would force gangs like this to disperse…” Mirai mused aloud while unwrapping a eucalyptus candy. “But then… allowing them to fester in a singular school will reduce the influence they’d have in others… And like so also reduce the possibility of drug rings to form between the schools.”

“You! Kotobuki Mirai! You will pay too for what you’ve done!” One other thug yelled.

“Is that so?” She blinked slowly. “ _I_ don’t think so.”

And like that was the signal, Ichigo and Sado kicked two of the thugs through the windows, through the announcement wall in the school yard and past two startled freshmen.

“Sado and Kurosaki!” One of them yelled when Mirai followed them out and the rest of the thugs surrounded them and the freshmen.

The five of them against ten plus something. Didn’t seem fair. For the opponents that was.

“Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-What’s going on?! I don’t believe what’s happening!” The same freshman than earlier was screaming. “This had gotta be some kind of sick cosmic joke! A dream! I must be a dream!”

“Shut up…” The other freshman sighed.

“Don’t you see?” Mirai asked. “This is a stand-off.”

“Kotobukiiiiih!” The boy screamed.

“Do I know you?” The girl frowned, yet she seemed more amused than anything.

“Did you think you could get away from me, Kurosaki, Chad? And Kotobuki bitch.” The ring leader of the mass approached.

“Who was he again, Asagi?” Ichigo asked.

“I don’t know.” The girl shrugged, completely unaffected by the fact that she’d been called bitch.

“Doesn’t even have a nickname?”

“No. There are three reasons why I give nicknames. One, I like them. Two, I don’t want others to know who I’m talking about. Three, I don’t like them and thus I insult them. If they don’t have a nickname, then they are not worth remembering. But in this case…” Mirai had ticked up three fingers as she listed her reasons but lowered them as she dug her pocket for a next candy. “Popcorn-afro.”

“WHAT?!” The said popcorn-afro roared.

“You pissed him off.” Ichigo remarked.

“It was the purpose.”

“It’s Ooshima Rei’ichi form Tougata Middle!” The loud freshman screamed.

“Oi, Keigo! How come you know so much about these punks?” His friend questioned. “These guys are in our class, too.”

“Proper crowd control then. I pity sensei though.” Mirai chirped.

“Who’re you? Kurosaki’s friends?” Ooshima glared at the boy named Keigo. But just when the boy was denying any connection to the orange-haired boy…

“I’m Kojima Mizuiro from Hiiragini Middle School. I’m in 1-3. Nice to meet ya!” His friend introduced himself to Ichigo, Sado and Mirai.

“1-3? I’m in that class, too.” Ichigo said.

“We all are.” Mirai smiled. “Nice to meet you, Kojima-kun… Say, does a water have a color?”

“Color?” Mizuiro blinked.

“Don’t mind her.” Ichigo elbowed the girl. “I’m Kurosaki Ichigo. And this big guy is Sado Yasutora. And she is Kotobuki Mirai. Nice to meet you.”

By then Keigo’s shouts of desperation reached them. Ooshima Rei’ichi was pressing him to the ground with his feet.

“And who’s that?”

“He’s Asano Keigo.” Mizuiro replied. “He’s pretty smart although he never studies. He gets along well with others and never lies. He’s a way better person than I am.”

“You’re something else.” Ichigo stated.

“Huh?”

“I mean, it’s pretty rare for a person to praise their friend so much around strangers.” The orange-head replied, turning around and opening the zipper of his school uniform jacket. It was time for action and the uniform would restrict him too much otherwise. “Kojima, are you good at making excuses?”

“So good it’s sickening.”

“Sounds like me then.” Mirai grinned, stretching her hands above her head. “Mind if I join you, Kanzo-iro-kun?”

“Go ahead Asagi. But if they get a peek of your knickers in the progress, don’t blame me.” Ichigo grinned at the girl who scoffed. The uniform skirt was indeed very short and barely reached mid-thigh. The only good thing that came out of it was that it didn’t get in the way for fighting. Otherwise…

“I wear shorts underneath. They don’t show right now but I’m considering changing into with something with longer pantlegs.” She crossed her arms.

“Oh?”

“Reaching my knees.”

“I see. Kojima, think one excuse up in the next five minutes. We’ll need a good one to keep us form getting expelled after we save Asano.” Ichigo crouched, ready to act, and Mirai and Sado stepped up next to him, ready fight. And they were off.

* * *

They saved Asano Keigo and thanks to Kojima Mizuiro, avoided getting expelled or even suspended. The new year was about to start splendidly.

Then about two weeks later, a Shinigami stepped through the wall of Ichigo’s room.

And the first thing Ichigo thought was…

_“I can’t let this stand. But I can’t let her know everything either.”_

And according to Mirai’s warning and advise from years ago, he pretended ignorant ghost-seer and kicked the petite Shinigami.

“Who are you and what are you doing in my room?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ukitake's reaction will be eventually explained. In the meanwhile... next chapter: Rukia!


	13. Kuchiki Rukia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things were a bit too confusing for the shinigami but she soldiered on anyways.

**Created Life from Death 13  
Kuchiki Rukia**

The assignment at Karakura town had begun normally. She had been slaying some small hollows and sent plus souls to Soul Society via konso.

But then things went wrong. She really, really wanted to blame the boy or even the eerie violin music in the night, but honestly, she was as much at fault.

Kuchiki Rukia sat at the desk of her new school where she’d infiltrated in order to be closer to Kurosaki Ichigo, the boy she’d given her Shinigami powers to, and reminisced the previous night. Everything had just happened so fast. The boy had kicked her, she had been forced to explain the function of spirits in order to be let go and do her work in peace, he had broken through the bakudo she’d placed on him, the boy’s family was in danger thus he’d rushed to fight the hollow that had been approaching the house.

 _“I wonder which one of us was the suicidal one?”_ The Shinigami thought ruefully. The boy who tried to take on the hollow with a bat of some sort. Or her who had stepped between him and the jaws of the hollow.

In the end she’d given her powers to the boy. More than she planned and now she was stuck in a gigai, in a school that she could care less about and waiting for the boy that she would have to persuade to do her work while she recovered.

“Now where is he?”

* * *

Kurosaki arrived around in time for the third period. Apparently, he had been helping his family to clean up the mess that the hollow had caused. Or alternatively a truck as the family had been made to believe.

When the boy was talking with his friends and taking a seat next to her, Rukia made her move.

“You’re… Are you Kurosaki-kun?” She smiled at the orange-head. “Nice to meet you!”

The boy was naturally shocked and thus Rukia was not surprised to be led behind the school so they could talk. Persuading him was not surprising either but she had not expected the boy being against it so much. Wielding the power of a Shinigami and doing their work should be an honor!

“It seems someone punctured a waterballoon…” A girl mused nearby. Rukia turned to the speaker’s direction in the mid-motion of pulling on gokon tekko glove. The girl was crouched in the ground and petting a black cat, with her back towards the duo. “Nee, Kanzo-iro-kun, do you think you can keep track of it now?”

Surprisingly, Kurosaki answered.

“It won’t be easy but I’ll try.”

So strange. What was that girl talking about?

“Well, good luck in that endeavor.” The other girl straightened up and the cat slinked away. She turned around to face them. “You’re Kuchiki-san, right? Nice to meet you. I’m Kotobuki Mirai. I hope you enjoy your stay in Karakura-cho.”

“Thank you.” Rukia replied stiffly. Had the other girl heard their conversation? She observed as Kurosaki and Kotobuki talked and took the opportunity to scrutinize the girl.

Straight black hair with faint waviness in it reaching past her shoulders. Bangs parted at the left. Faintly tanned skin. Grey eyes. Slim build and taller than her. Dressed in Karakura High School’s uniform though with some pants underneath the skirt.

All in all she seemed perfectly normal with slight spiritual pressure herself, but nothing major.

“Are you going to call Shironeri-san?” Kurosaki asked the girl then. His previous frown and scowl had lessened in her presence and… He really looked like Kaien-dono. Rukia hadn’t paid attention to it previously with everything going on and the boy’s general expressions being so different… No matter. She needed to concentrate.

“I have to.” Kotobuki replied. “Have fun with Kuchiki-san. Make sure to show her the best sights for Karakura.”

The girl gave a short bow to her and went inside then. Rukia acted and pushed the boy out of his body while he was still distracted.

* * *

In the end, Kurosaki agreed to help her. It was difficult and the boy was stubborn but… It paid off. They were a team now. Now, she needed to start training him.

And find a place to stay. Because she was definitely not staying at that shop with its pervert of a shopkeeper.

* * *

Once the school was over for the day, Rukia would drag Kurosaki – Ichigo – with her to the nearby park. There she would train him how to take down hollows properly.

And there they one day met up with one Inoue Orihime who was very, very likely to be attacked by a hollow soon.

She was. But Ichigo handled it. And that eerie violin music was back too. It seemed to be everywhere in Karakura town at once, not really diminishing in volume no matter how far they went. It was only during nights though. Daytime when they went to slay hollows, there was no background music and for some reason… Ichigo wasn’t bothered even when there was.

“Oh, it has been going on for a while. Thus far only people who can see ghosts, have mentioned it to me.” The boy replied when she asked.

“So it could be a plus soul causing it then?”

“…In a manner of speaking.” He said in an evasive manner, obviously reluctant to say more. Rukia let the matter be. For now.

* * *

Next they had a case of cursed parakeet with Ichigo’s friend Sado Yasutora. It was a strange one with many mysteries until they managed to track down the hollow responsible of it all.

Witnessing the Gates of Hell wasn’t something Rukia ever wanted to experience herself but well, at least Ichigo was getting comprehensive look into the work of a Shinigami.

At it seemed like he was adjusting too despite all his grumbling and whining indicating otherwise. Not to mention that he’d managed to sense reiraku ribbons and use them to track down the parakeet and the Sado boy. It was impressive yet… it was like Ichigo was holding back. But that was impossible, right?

* * *

“Kuchiki-san? Could I please talk privately with Kanzo-iro-kun? Without you listening in?” Kotobuki asked her one day after school.

“I’m not his keeper.” Rukia stated, heedless of the other girl’s smile. Kotobuki Mirai was a strange one. The rumors surrounding her and her reputation as a ‘revenge-seller’ painted a whole different picture than what she behaved at school. The girl was polite and always smiling at her classmates. Everyone seemed to like her even though they kept distance from her.

“No, you are not. But ever since you arrived, you’ve been hogging Kanzo-iro all to yourself.” The gentle demeanor vanished. “While it’s great that you are settling in, acting like a possessive girlfriend is not the way to go on here. I’ve known Kanzo-iro since we were three years old and lately I’ve barely had a chance to spend time with him.”

Rukia wanted to snap at the ignorant human that she needed to stay close to Ichigo so she could tell him about the hollows nearby, but she bit her tongue. She knew what it was like to miss a friend. The young Shinigami hadn’t seen Renji since she’d graduated and been adopted and… No time for reminiscence.

“Alright. I understand. I might need to see him later though. I hope you are done by then.” Rukia didn’t really like Kotobuki. Something about her made her skin crawl.

* * *

She ended up eavesdropping. And she wished she hadn’t. It only raised so many questions that she wanted answers for but if she asked anyone, then Kotobuki would know that she’d been listening in and… Rukia really didn’t want to know what sort of revenge would be enacted upon her.

“How is it going Ichigo?” The other girl asked the orange-head when they sat down to eat lunch on top of the roof.

“Fine… Exhausted. I have barely any time for myself now.” Ichigo sighed.

“How so?”

“She lives in my closet.” They were talking about her? Rukia huffed in indignation. Why? Why had Ichigo told that girl about this all?

“Oh? And drags you around with a superior expression on her face?” Kotobuki chuckled.

“Yes…” Ichigo bit out. “I’m tired… And as fulfilling as slaying hollows is, it interferes with my regular life.”

“Well, just a few weeks or something and she’ll get her powers back and life goes back to normal.” Kotobuki comforted the boy. “Think positively. Maybe this will kickstart what naturally is there.”

“You think so?”

“It’s entirely possible. But you really need to get your reiatsu under control.”

“It was manageable before, alright? It’s not my fault I’m so overloaded with it now that I can’t even sense the edges of it.”

Edges? Just what did they think to know about reiatsu?

“And concentration of it would be detrimental for everyone.”

“Karin complained last night that it was causing headache for her when I tried to reign it in. So I gave up.” Ichigo sighed. “What did Shironeri-san say when you called?”

“To keep an eye on situation and give reports once a week. He hoped that everything will normalize before the deadline and nothing needs to be done about it at his end.” Kotobuki shrugged. Who was Shironeri then? “But hey, how have you found your soul form then? Is it easier to work with?”

“Yes.” Ichigo smiled. And why didn’t he smile like that at Rukia? Just smirked like the cocky kid he was. “I’ve been limiting myself so Rukia won’t ask questions but everything is so much easier without my body. It’s no wonder you learnt everything so fast from Bara-san and Neko-san!”

“Yeah… It’s an amazing feeling, isn’t it?” The girl smiled back. “Hey do you think you could stop by dojo someday soon? We could have a match.”

“Sure.” Ichigo got up to leave. “Thank you for giving me class notes again, Asagi.”

“No problem. I’ll keep watching out for you.” Kotobuki smiled and they parted ways. But what Rukia didn’t know, was that Mirai had been aware the entire time of their eavesdropper.

* * *

Her gigai was malfunctioning. It was stiff and she was running out of the… well, drugs to synchronize it with her. Soumafixers were nasty but unfortunately necessary. Moreover, her power didn’t seem to be returning and it had already been a week and half since the incident. She needed to get more. And check if her order was ready to be picked up.

* * *

Infuriating shopkeeper! And the order wasn’t even Chappy the Bunny. No matter, it was for Ichigo anyways. Next time she’d make sure to get Chappy though.

“Do take care, Kuchiki-san!” Urahara grinned. “Please come back…” The man’s gaze sharpened to something on top of a building nearby but when Rukia turned around to look, there was nothing. “…soon.”

“Was there something?” She frowned. The shopkeeper flapped open his fan and covered the bottom of his face.

“Nope. Not a _thing_.” He said cheerily. But if Rukia had seen his eyes, she’d noticed them being anything but.

* * *

Once again, she was not surprised that Ichigo complained about using the Soul Candy. But the mess the konpaku… kaizou konpaku caused was almost not worth the effort to catch it. But they had to. Ichigo needed his body back and quickly. As for the mess at school…

“Kotobuki-san… I have a favor to ask.” Rukia didn’t want to ask her help but…

“Fire away. It seems you are on a time-limit.” The other girl smiled whilst righting one of the desks that Arisawa Tatsuki had been tossing around at the mod-soul.

“Can you do damage control here? I’m sure you already know what Ichigo had been doing these past days and…” She could try and persuade the girl. Preferably with threats.

“Sure.” Kotobuki interrupted, breaking Rukia’s flow.

“I-…What?”

“I said sure. Now go and catch that wayward body. I’ll collect my due eventually.”

Rukia really didn’t like the grin Kotobuki had on her face but she had no time to think about it. She had a mission.

* * *

During their run both Ichigo’s phone and Rukia’s denreishinki rang. The denreishinki announced a new hollow nearby. The phone call…

“Thanks, Shinbashi-san, you didn’t need to.” Ichigo ended the call.

“Who was that?”

“Asagi’s friend. Apparently she asked her to keep an eye for someone who looked like me but behaved otherwise.” The boy replied. “My body is near.”

“But the hollow!” The midget protested.

“In the same direction!” And he dashed off.

Really now, this was getting annoying.

* * *

Not as annoying as Ichigo apparently already knowing Urahara.

“Wait a minute! You can see me?! You, a candy store owner! What the hell are you?!” The orange-head pointed at the man. “Though considering that it’s a ‘Soul Candy’ why am I surprised…” The boy added under his breath.

Well, Rukia would take a distraction as it was offered.

“K-Kuchiki-san! Don’t take that!” Urahara protested when the kaizou konpaku was snatched from his hand.

“What, Urahara? Does your store take items you sold to customer without compensation?” Rukia asked.

“Oh… Well then, I’ll pay…”

“No need. I’m satisfied with the product.” Rukia dismissed. Having a konpaku that could take care of himself would become handy. Rukongai taught her to exploit everything she could. “Plus, you guys are working outside that law anyway. You don’t have any responsibility to recover him.”

“…We’re not responsible then?” Urahara asked. “If trouble comes, we’ll play dumb.”

“Don’t worry. I’m getting used to trouble lately.”

* * *

They made their way back to Kurosaki clinic in order to patch up Ichigo’s body.

“So… How do you know Urahara?” Rukia asked.

“Geta-boushi? I visited his shop once as a kid with Asagi and Tatsuki. Annoying guy…” Ichigo muttered. It seemed like his mind was elsewhere though.

“What are you thinking?”

“…We should give Kon a body to use.” A viable idea but not what was burdening Ichigo.

“Kon?”

“Kon like kaizou konpaku.”

“I see. And I agree. But it must be something… non-human.”

“Yeah, yeah… I thought about a stray cat or something…”

In the end they found an abandoned lion plushie. Innocent enough to have around. And easy to carry or hide when needed.

Then June 17th rolled around. And Rukia got to see another side of Ichigo. And discover more about Kotobuki Mirai.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Going on a vacation. Milan, here I come!


	14. Arisawa Tatsuki II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tatsuki observes and helps out behind the scenes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm back from Milan so you'll get this chapter finally. Next week I'm going to try and write the next chapter as AO3 is now caught up with ff.net now.

**Created Life from Death 14  
Arisawa Tatsuki**

She felt it happen. While Tatsuki was no way as powerful as Ichigo or Mirai, she was able to feel hollows if they were close enough.

Close enough being for example the distance between Kurosaki Clinic and her own house. The screams that pierced the night were horrifying and she could only hope that Ichigo and his sisters were alright.

“They are fine.” Mirai said. She was sitting on the windowsill of Tatsuki’s room in her spirit form, holding a violin. “Not unharmed but fine.” She played more notes of a haunting melody that she seemed to be making up as she played.

“There is someone else…” Tatsuki said quietly. “Someone else with Ichigo. Who is it?”

“A Shinigami.” The blonde’s eyes were distant as she gazed to the direction of the clinic. “They appear around the same level than the previous one. Probably unseated or then a junior seat…”

The amazing thing about Mirai was the accuracy of her sensing. Ichigo could get a general location even from greater distance but Mirai could pinpoint the hollow or ghost for him…

Suddenly Mirai flinched and the speed she played the melody increased.

“What is going on? What are you doing?”

“Echolocation. My zanpakuto is all about vibrations. Sound, light, movement… they all are detected through different sort of vibration and wave patterns… They all cause ripples which I can manipulate.” Mirai replied. “With the aid of my violin I can monitor the situation even from distance. Because I’m in my spirit form, only those with ability to see ghosts can hear it.”

“Alright…” Tatsuki was… honored. She knew that Mirai hadn’t told anyone else about her soul slayer’s abilities. Not even Ichigo.

Like reading her thoughts, Mirai smiled grimly and spoke up again, “I’d planned on telling Ichigo. But things got in the way. And with that Shinigami knowing Ichigo now, I don’t know when I’ll get the chance.”

“Can you tell me what is going on at the clinic then?” Tatsuki asked when the hollow screamed again.

“Goat-face, Yuzu-chan and Karin-chan are all stationary, probably injured and unconscious. The Shinigami is injured too. Ichigo…”

Reiatsu spiked. Tatsuki could feel it. She could also see the light several blocks away, easily seen as the street lamps weren’t working after the hollow walked through some of the cables, snapping them.

“Wha…” She could only stare. Even after being introduced to it all formally, things were still a bit unclear to Tatsuki. Especially when the exact limits of spiritual events were unknown. “What’s going on?”

Mirai stopped playing and stilled. Her eyes closed for a moment and then the space in front of them was full of white ribbons. She reached out with her hand and one white ribbon fluttered upon her palm. Ribbon which was rabidly turning blood red. The red color was flowing from another ribbon that in turn was turning white with only a single red strand running through it.

“Ichigo has gained the power of the Shinigami while the Shinigami themselves has been rendered nearly powerless.” The blonde stated solemnly, yet once again she wasn’t surprised. Tatsuki could only stare at her friend while on the background the hollow’s reiatsu vanished. There was no doubt in her mind as to who had done it in.

“What will happen now?” She knew how scared Mirai was with anything to do with Shinigami. How scared she was of ‘Shironeri-san’ going back in his word and reporting her. And with Ichigo in contact with a Shinigami and apparently now having their powers…

“We keep our eyes open. And I’ll make my report tomorrow.” A reassuring smile was given even though it was fake. “Go to sleep, Tatsuki-chan. You’ll definitely need it. We got school tomorrow.”

“Saturday and school… joy…”

* * *

The transfer student appearing at school wasn’t suspicious. Not _at all_. Not even when she and Ichigo vanished somewhere right after the third period. _Definitely_ not.

Kuchiki Rukia. All lady-like grace and impeccable if old-fashioned manners. Charming people left and right.

And bossing Ichigo around and trying to coerce him to do her job for her.

“I don’t like it any more than you do, but we must keep our distance.” Mirai said, breaking Tatsuki’s train of thought. She flipped her denreishinki shut. “Help me lift Ichigo’s body elsewhere. Who knows when they’ll be back.”

“What did your… boss say?”

“Shironeri-san happens to be Kuchiki-san’s direct superior… He requested me to keep an eye on the situation and report him once a week. If needed, I’m to assist her…” Mirai made a face as they lifted Ichigo’s body – dead weight – behind some storage buildings, out of sight.

“I’ll keep our classmates distracted then. Ichigo really doesn’t need any more things to worry about. With the bullies and teachers and now Shinigami stuff too…” Tatsuki sighed.

“You’re certain that he’ll humor Kuchiki-san then?”

“Of course. It’s Ichigo! He wouldn’t just leave this be. If anyone knows the situation in Karakura, it’s him. And if a Shinigami isn’t here to do their work, someone has to pick their slack. In this case, it’s Ichigo.”

“Very true.”

* * *

Tatsuki didn’t ever want to be helpless again. Seeing Orihime in danger and being tossed around the ditzy girl’s apartment while unable to do anything… It was horrible. And being showed out of her body was painful and made her feel all heavy. Not to mention the reiatsu of the hollow – Orihime’s brother – and Ichigo – so much wilder than before – was making it harder to breathe.

And it had been just a few days after the Shinigami had arrived to Karakura town.

“Ichigo…” Tatsuki groaned.

“Stay still Tatsuki. You are injured.” The orange-haired boy stated. And Tatsuki could only obey. In her state, she’d only be in the way and would cause Ichigo to divide his attention between herself, Orihime and the Hollow.

So she just laid on the floor and watched Ichigo fight, get tossed out of the window, give a lecture to the hollow and wound it. In the end though, it was Orihime whose word got through Inoue Sora and made him cleanse himself with Ichigo’s sword.

And why an earth was it so big anyways? Even the handle looked too thick to have a good grip on.

That night was nightmarish. And it didn’t help that Kuchiki used that memory-thing on her and Orihime. While Orihime seemed to have her memories replaced completely – or glossed over as Tatsuki saw it – Tatsuki in the other hand was experiencing double set of them. At one hand, she saw Ichigo battling the hollow. In the other hand, she remembered a sumo wrestler with a bazooka. Very annoying.

“If your reiryoku reserves increase… And I think they will with the way Ichigo is leaking everywhere, you can eventually overwhelm the false memory.” Mirai smiled sympathetically at her next day.

“Things are just going to get more and more complicated around here, aren’t they?” Tatsuki sighed. “No matter what we hope for, there will be consequences.”

“Most likely, yes.” The child of Shinigami sighed, trying to hide defeat in her voice but not quite succeeding in it.

* * *

The next strange case was of the parakeet that Sado acquired. A cute bird but…

“It actually talks whole sentences and replies like actually understanding us?” Tatsuki asked Mirai during lunch break. Thanks to certain motormouth named Asano Keigo, about the entire class already knew about the bird. And the fact that Kuchiki was eating lunch with Ichigo.

“Yeah. And Chad-kun was injured soon after getting him.” Mirai muttered. “Apparently a steel beam fell on him and later he was grazed by a motorbike.”

“If it were anyone anyone else but Sado, they’d been dead.”

“True.”

“And the parakeet?”

“I haven’t seen him myself yet but… There is a faint spiritual pressure hanging around Chad-kun. Like that of a regular ghost.”

“Are you going to investigate the matter then?”

“…I think Ichigo and Kuchiki-san are already on the case. I’ll follow from distance though.”

* * *

Next day Sado didn’t come to school. Neither did Mirai. From Ichigo Tatsuki heard that Sado had been in an accident near the clinic but disappeared during the night.

“It’s a hollow, Tatsuki. It’s chasing him.” The orange-head muttered with a low voice and chill ran down the girl’s spine.

“Do you think Mirai is tracking him then?”

“Probably. Dina-basan called and told me Asagi didn’t come home for the night.”

“I really don’t like this.”

“Me neither.” And Ichigo run out of the classroom just when the class was about to start. Tatsuki sighed. If the incident with Orihime’s brother was any indication, Ichigo would be injured again. She really wished he didn’t need to hold back. But with the overload of reiatsu, he couldn’t even use kidou that effectively. And that oversized sword of his was much different from the bamboo swords he used at Kotobuki-dojo.

She could only pray that the issue could be solved quickly.

* * *

In the evening Mirai was on Tatsuki’s windowsill again. She was curled into herself and practically being swallowed by her cloak.

“I saw the Gates of Hell today.”

“That sounds terrifying.” Tatsuki began before pausing. “Wait… You mean the actual gates? Hell actually exists?”

“Yeah… The hollow that was after Chad-kun and the parakeet – which actually had a soul of a little boy inside it – was a murderer so he was sent to hell.” Mirai murmured. “The feel of those gates and what was inside of them…” The blonde girl shuddered. “I don’t ever want to see them again.”

“Oh…” Tatsuki reached out for the girl and drew her into the room. Mirai was shaking. Tatsuki could feel it in her arms as she embraced the girl. No hollow could render her this scared so the Gates of Hell must have had some really malignant reiatsu in them. “Can you tell me about the parakeet boy then? Was he alright in the end?”

“Yeah, Ichigo sent him to Soul Society. He had been inside that parakeet for four years already. He had been alive when that hollowfied murderer had stuffed his soul into it. His mother was killed by that murderer and he’d seen it happen…” Mirai murmured, face hidden into her arms. “Karin-chan saw him when Chad-kun was at the clinic. She could see what had happened to the boy…”

Tatsuki just listened as Mirai told about the case. Apparently a lot had happened and the blonde really needed to get it all out.

“Ichigo and Kuchiki-san ran into Karin-chan when they were looking for Chad-kun. She was feeling ill so Ichigo took her home. I kept watch on Kuchiki-san meanwhile. The hollow had minions that spat exploding leeches… Chad-kun in the other hand could just barely see the hollow itself and hit it when necessary. But in the end Ichigo took care of it all…”

“I see… Did Ichigo do well?”

“Yeah… He took the hollow down with ease.” Mirai sighed and leant against her friend. “Once he heard what had happened to the parakeet boy – Shibata Yuuichi – the rage he felt and wielded as a weapon… It was terrifying.” She chuckled. “Ichigo will be strong. Stronger than anyone else once he learns to use his full potential and is not held down by Kuchiki-san’s power.”

“I can believe that.” Tatsuki smiled. “And as soon as the shinigai leaves, you don’t need to hide that much either.”

“Kuchiki-san’s powers aren’t returning. Today she tried to fire kidou at the hollow and it didn’t work. And when she healed Ichigo’s wounds, she couldn’t patch him up completely. It’s as if she is getting weaker and weaker…”

“That’s worrying.”

“Yeah…”

Mirai fell asleep on Tatsuki’s bed. The karateka looked down on her friend before turning to finish her homework.

* * *

It happened a couple of times during the next few days. Mirai would show up at Tatsuki’s place and talk about what happened on Ichigo’s side. How he was doing, what he should work on… And how she missed the time she spent with him. They had had only one proper conversation since Kuchiki arrived. And even that was half-staged, with Tatsuki texting Mirai when the Shinigami girl followed them out of the class and to the roof.

Things were worrying. She was worried for both Ichigo and Mirai. She was afraid that either of them – or both of them – were running themselves thin.

“It was so different before that Shinigami arrived…” Tatsuki muttered before laying down on the bed, next to the other girl.

* * *

Next morning Mirai was gone, only leaving behind a note that she was going to see where Kuchiki was going right before school.

“Well?” Tatsuki asked when they took seats in the classroom. It was weird how much they interacted now that Ichigo was humoring Kuchiki.

“She picked up some merchandise from Urahara Shoten.”

Tatsuki’s eyebrows shot up. Well, this certainly confirmed everything. But…

“Were you seen?”

“Tenchou-san might’ve spotted me. Not sure though.” The currently black-haired blonde shrugged. “Anyways, I think we need to keep our eyes open today.”

And sure they did when Ichigo was dragged off by Kuchiki on lunch time and later appeared as very … un-Ichigo-like. Tatsuki stared at him flirting with Orihime and then kissing her and…

Mirai made a motion with her hand by one of the desks. Like flipping it over.

Oh yeah, that she could do. Tatsuki tossed the first desk. It was easy to get enraged at that… whatever that was in Ichigo’s body.

The Hurricane Tatsuki that went through the place before Ichigo and Kuchiki came back, would be talked for weeks. Ichigo’s body escaped through the window though and ran away. And Mirai…

“I said sure. Now go and catch that wayward body. I’ll collect my due eventually.” She grinned at Kuchiki who hurried off. Just what was Mirai playing at?

Keigo, Mizuiro and Chad returned from lunch break then. And teacher arrived. He was pissing Tatsuki off with his mere presence.

“Umm, sensei… Some stranger entered from the window! This all happened when Tatsuki-chan was trying to get rid of him!” Ogawa Michiru came to Tatsuki’s rescue. Friends were such a wonderful thing.

“From the window? Don’t be crazy! This is the third floor! Protecting Arisawa with such a lie is…”

“It’s not a lie.” Kunieda Ryo added. “I saw it too.”

“Uh… Well… It Kunieda says so… Then maybe it’s true…”

“Sensei, please don’t report Tatsuki-san to headmaster.” Mirai spoked up then. “We can clean this all up but Tatsuki-san shouldn’t be punished for defending us from that pervert.” She gave a mild smile. “If anything, you should go make a report to police on him. I can give a description later if needed.”

“Very well. If Kotobuki agrees with this I don’t see why not.” The teacher blustered. “Clean this mess up before 5th period. I’ll report the intruder to the committee!” And he left.

Mirai let out a breath. “Saa, keeping up that act is exhausting.” She sighed.

“It’s still so weird how you can change personality just by a flip of a switch.” Tatsuki muttered. “But thanks guys for standing up for me.”

“You are welcome.” Ryo nodded. Michiru nodded too with a relieved smile. “But did something happen? Kurosaki-kun was being weird.”

“I doubt it was him.” Mirai stated flatly, promptly cutting off whatever Chizuru was about to rage. “I’ve known him for too long to be fooled by an impostor like that. And Ichigo isn’t capable of pulling off an act like that.” She was pulling out her phone. “Tatsuki-chan, can you start cleaning up? I need to make a call.”

“Sure.”

* * *

When June 17th rolled around, Ichigo and Mirai were both gone. And so was Kuchiki. It was a rainy day. Tatsuki spent it with Orihime, explaining to her why Ichigo was gone and what he was like before his mother’s death.

And the entire time she just waited for the night fall and Mirai appear on her windowsill again.

“Kuchiki-san knows about me. I had to step in for Ichigo today.” Mirai explained once she arrived. It was almost mid-night by then. “The hollow that appeared… It was almost exactly like the one that killed Masaki-obasan. Not the same but similar enough that Ichigo lost his cool and almost got killed. In the end the hollow got away from us… But now Kuchiki-san knows about me and I don’t need to hide from her that much.”

“I see. How did she take it then?”

“Annoyed. But understands better now how Ichigo knows some stuff already. Naturally she doesn’t know everything about me either but… she is more considerate now.” Mirai shrugged. “And I’m collecting the debt from the Mod-soul incident in couple of days.”

Mirai had managed to get the story from Ichigo and then relayed it to Tatsuki. (A few days later the karateka was sure she saw a walking lion plushie when she was playing soccer-baseball with Orihime but she wasn’t sure.) As much as Tatsuki felt like sympathizing with the kaizou konpaku, she was still pissed how he behaved around the girls – especially Orihime.

“What did you name as your terms then?”

“She needs to collect some wasabi peanuts from Urahara Shoten and allow Ichigo come over to dojo for a spar.” Mirai grinned. “I can’t wait!”

“Give me the date so I can come and watch.” Tatsuki smiled back. “Hey, since Shinigami use swords… do you think she knows kendo too?”

“Perhaps.”

* * *

It was around a week later that Tatsuki received the message that Ichigo and Mirai were about to have their match. She hurried to Kotobuki-dojo and took a seat among the rest of the audience (seriously, the two classes and some stragglers were seated there), next to Kuchiki.

“Who is refereeing?” Tatsuki asked, trying to be cordial with the Shinigami girl.

“It’s the other teacher here… I heard them call him Kamenozoki-sensei.”

“I see. They’d probably accuse Kotobuki-sensei for favorism if Mirai were to win.” Tatsuki nodded.

“Is Ichigo really that good in kendo?”

“Yes. He’s participated in lessons since he was eleven or so. After he quit karate anyways.”

“After his mother’s death then…”

Tatsuki whipped to look at the girl who now had a sad look on her face.

“He told some when we visited her grave.” Kuchiki explained vaguely. Well, she thought Tatsuki was a normal human without any knowledge of hollows so naturally she wouldn’t mention that stuff.

“I see. I didn’t realize you were that close.”

Kuchiki was about to reply but just then Mirai and Ichigo stepped onto the floor cleared for their match. They were both wearing the full kendo gear and holding bamboo swords. Hush spread through the audience. It was clear that Ichigo and Mirai were well known at the dojo and were both very skilled. The respect coming from the students was obvious.

(Interestingly, every single one of them were sitting in seiza. Kamenozoki was holding strict school there.)

The match begun. It was very fast paced and quite even. Ichigo had the size advantage yet Mirai was holding out on her own quite well. Kamenozoki was awarding the points when hit was scored but both competitors were quite well defending as well.

Kuchiki was staring at them with her mouth slightly open, obviously stunned by the skill displayed. Maybe some of it was familiar for her. Tatsuki had heard from Mirai that the Shinigami went to school were they learnt something called zanjutsu. Maybe it was similar to kendo at least to some degree but considering the way Ichigo had been forced to wield the giant sword when slaying hollows, he couldn’t have utilized the techniques that well.

The match ended in Ichigo’s narrow win. The exhilarated grin that grazed his face was brilliant and something Tatsuki had missed. With things with the Shinigami and hollows pressing down on them all, it was great to have a chance to relax too.

Mirai laughed freely once she got her helmet off and gave a one-armed hug to her best friend.

“Yo, Kuchiki! Wanna give a try?” Ichigo called out to the Shinigami girl who spluttered.

“Ah… I couldn’t… I’ve never…” She tried to collect her (fake) composure.

“Give ‘er a break, Ichigo. No one can match your skill here but Mirai and Kamenozoki-sensei.” Tatsuki laughed, saving the girl, as they made their way to the competitors. “Even Kotobuki-sensei is outmatched.”

“And I don’t regret it at all.” Kotobuki Kenji smiled from behind the boy and clapped a hand on his shoulder. Kamenozoki had already left to herd the other students to their lessons. “Ichigo-kun is one of my best students I’ve ever had.”

“Don’t talk rubbish, Kenji-sensei.” Ichigo murmured.

“You did very well, Kurosaki-kun.” Rukia smiled, her act in place once again. “I was honored to see your match.”

Maybe she wasn’t that bad after all. The fake act was irritating though.

* * *

Well, not as irritating as Don Kanonji Show. Everyone was thrilled by it. Especially after it arrived to Karakura.

“Bohahahaha!” They said and put on the ridiculous pose. Keigo, Mizuiro, Orihime and so many others…

“It’s giving me a headache…” Mirai moaned, her head lying on her desk and her hair spilling all over it.

“Are you going to watch the live?” Tatsuki asked.

“…Without my body.” The girl muttered. “Gonna support Kanzo-iro if needed. But if there’s nothing, I’ll go home.”

* * *

Sado and Orihime could all sense something around the hospital. Tatsuki was too far to hear what Kuchiki and Ichigo were talking about but something about the place… It was giving her creeps and not only because of that spirit.

Mirai was sitting on the roof of that hospital, her cloak billowing slightly in the wind. She certainly had a vantage point to everything from there.

Until that idiot Kanonji caused the ghost to hollowfy and form right next to her.

“Idiot!” Tatsuki hissed as Mirai leaped down from the building and landed next to Ichigo in his Shinigami form. The shady shopkeeper had been the one to push him out of his body earlier. Tatsuki was reluctantly grateful for that since the security had swamped Ichigo and Kuchiki – Rukia – earlier.

“He really doesn’t know anything, does he?” Yuzu asked mournfully. Considering how much the little girl had admired Don Kanonji, this must’ve been a blow to her. The twins had earlier slipped away from their father when Isshin had been caught by the security too, and come to stand by Tatsuki and Orihime.

“Well, maybe this will be an education opportunity.” Tatsuki muttered.

“I don’t want to feel a ghost turning into a hollow ever again.” Karin said, swallowing heavily and seeming nauseous. Even after all those years, she was still much more sensitive than Yuzu who still needed glasses sometimes to see what was going on in the spiritual plane.

“Me neither…”

“Tatsuki-chan… What are you talking about?” Orihime asked. Tatsuki glanced at her friend before making a decision.

“Orihime, what exactly can you see happening over there?” Because of what had happened with her brother, she deserved to know. At least in order to have a closure. And if it fell on Tatsuki to explain things, so be it.

Mirai and Ichigo (with unhelpful aid of Don Kanonji) managed to chase the hollow inside the hospital. Now they could only wait.

* * *

Aside from the extensite collateral damage, Ichigo and Mirai seemed to handle the hollow just fine. Afterwards Tatsuki could hear Ichigo cursing his big sword in confined spaces and ignorant spirit mediums who took heroics too far, but overall they did well. Mirai was quick to disappear but Tatsuki could see Urahara watch to the direction she went.

The karateka sighed. She had a feeling those two needed to talk soon.

“Come, Orihime. I’ll explain everything to you.” Now that it was clear that Orihime almost seen the hollow and the spiritual pair’s forms, Tatsuki would take care of everything at her end.


	15. Kurosaki Ichigo III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 17th June was rainy day. Always.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not entirely satisfied with this chapter but I hope you like this anyways.

**Created Life from Death 15  
Kurosaki Ichigo**

Doing Rukia’s Shinigami job was… frustrating. As much as Ichigo enjoyed moving around without his own body and liked the excitement that slaying hollows brought him, the lack of control of… everything greatly annoyed him. He couldn’t control his own reiatsu anymore with Rukia’s power mingled with it. He couldn’t use his experience in kendo because the sword was so damn big because of the same reason. He couldn’t control what was going on in his life anymore with Rukia bossing him around and generally not leaving him alone. He couldn’t hang out with Mirai or Tatsuki even without the Shinigami finding out they knew more than they should and then trying to erase their memories. It was already bad enough that Tatsuki had experienced it in the aftermath of Orihime’s brother going rampage.

The only thing they had control of was in mitigating the damage. Mirai and Tatsuki both ran interference between the Shinigami shenanigans and their classmates while Ichigo kept Rukia distracted and suitably off-balance. Thankfully the assignments they got and found were more than enough, the parakeet-case being the most prominent.

Then of course Mirai wanted to mess with the Shinigami girl a bit. And with her acting skills it was more than enough. Rukia had this certain sheltered look in her, which was contradictory to her regular violent reactions. But even her two-sided nature couldn’t complete with Mirai’s craftiness and manipulation.

There… He actually said manipulation. Because that’s what Mirai did. She was kind and polite to their classmates who didn’t really interest her and thus kept them at arms-length _at least_. She played some of the stupider teachers marvelously when they were being annoying like in the aftermath of Kon-incident. And then she flipped a switch to either direction. The creepy and scary revenge-seller that kept thugs on toes and Rukia off-balance. Or then the sarcastic but vulnerable Asagi that Ichigo, Tatsuki, Neko-sensei and Bara-san knew her as. Of course, there was other roles that Mirai could adopt and adapt but those three were the most prominent ones.

Some outsider might’ve found her behavior suspicious but for Ichigo that was just how Mirai was. It was her survival and defense mechanism. They trusted each other and could read each other even through their masks. Mirai had always looked after Ichigo and his sisters, even without asking, and Ichigo trusted she wouldn’t abuse the trust he’d placed in her. Just like Mirai trusted he wouldn’t turn his back to her.

Because no matter how strong Mirai pretended to be, her entire world view was built on bonds she had formed with people. And if Ichigo cut their bond, it would shatter her. Neko-sensei had explained it to Ichigo once when Mirai had been off learning to use her zanpakuto. It… hadn’t been a pleasant conversation but a necessary one. And in the end Ichigo would protect her as much as she protected him, if in a different way.

* * *

Kon might’ve been tolerable to handle if Ichigo’s mother’s death day hadn’t been so soon. Of course the mod-soul’s personality didn’t help the matters and the fact that Rukia and Kon needed to hide every time Yuzu (or anyone else of his family) entered his room without knocking didn’t do favors on Ichigo’s nerves.

But just few weeks and it would be over. Nothing too bad would happen in the meantime. Right?

He shouldn’t have jinxed it.

“Why did you follow me?!” The orange-haired teen shouted at the petite Shinigami. Why? The one day he wanted for himself and his family, this… menace had to follow him. It was only one day. Nothing bad should happen. And even if it did, he could handle himself. He had done so for years. Besides…

“Fool! What would you do if a hollow attacks and I’m not nearby?” Rukia retorted.

“Just because of that… Y’know, if you were going to follow, you should’ve been more covert! Or, you know, told me first!” Like certain someone did.

“Sorry about that. I wasn’t aware.”

“What are you so angry about?” Ichigo frowned. He was the one pissed off now. What reason did Rukia have since _she_ was the one to follow _him_?

“Nothing. I’m not angry.” Rukia stated. “ _Killed_ … That’s what you told me. Your mother…”

“…I didn’t say that.” Ichigo cursed himself. He’d been thinking aloud again.

“…Who killed her?”

“…”

“You told me you could see ghosts for as long as you could remember. If that’s so, answer just one question for me.”

She was getting annoying.

“Wasn’t the thing that killed your mother a hollow?”

Really annoying. Just talk, talk, talk… Imposing her worldview and opinions on him…

“It’s possible! You’ve seen spirits for as long as you could remember, so if your reiatsu is that high, the hollows could have targeted you and mistaken you mother for…”

“ **Shut up!”** Ichigo barked. “I know already!”

“Huh?” Rukia blinked, not used to Ichigo losing his temper at her since their first meeting.

“It was a hollow, okay? I saw it. I saw it kill my mother and I saw a Shinigami slay that thing.” Ichigo glared. “But quit jumping into conclusions!” He shouted at the astonished face of the Shinigami.

“He’s right.” A new voice joined in. Mirai melted out of the shadows and drew back a hood of her ‘magic cloak’. Rukia jumped at the voice and turned to stare at the now blonde girl.

“You… how can I not sense you? What are you doing here even?”

“It’s this cloak. It conceals my reiatsu.” Mirai shrugged. “Anyways, I’m here to patrol the area just in case. Bara-san is watching over rest of Karakura in our absence. You are right in the way that Ichigo’s reiatsu does attract hollows so even residue might cause them to gather but you are wrong in assuming that simply because someone is killed, it’s automatically work of hollow because of that.”

“What?”

Mirai sighed. “While it’s true that Masaki-basan was killed by a hollow, it doesn’t give you right to assume that hollows are responsible of every evil in this world. As for why I’m here… I’m keeping an eye on Ichigo’s back.”

“You? Why you?”

“In the case you haven’t realized it yet, I too, can use reiatsu. Quite well in fact.” Mirai deadpanned. “Now, I’m going to fade back to the foliage and avoid Kurosaki Isshin as well as I can.” And with that, she vanished again. Rukia stared after her but Ichigo turned around in order to head to the graves.

“Let’s go. Don’t worry about her.”

* * *

Everything went as normal and fine until Karin spotted a kid on a cliff. A bait. The hollow attacked her and Yuzu. And when Ichigo and Rukia reached them, they were both on the ground and the monstrous hollow loomed over them and Mirai who was standing between them. In her hand was a… fan? A bloodied metal fan and the hollow’s arm was on the side, cut off.

“Apparently its name is Angler Bait.” The blonde stated. “Sorry, I couldn’t act sooner. The bait itself was pretty misleading.”

The bait in question looked like a little boy in a furry cloak. Very unthreatening, just like the girl bait of Grand Fisher had been.

Ichigo swallowed Kon’s pill and told the mod soul to take the girls away.

“So… Is this Grand Fisher’s spawn or something?” The orange-head asked, lifting his sword on his shoulder in order to avoid attacking the thing right away. He was angry. No, he was furious at the thing for attacking Yuzu and Karin but right now the girls were safe. He could exact his revenge a tiny bit later. Once he had all the facts.

 **“I’m not a spawn! I’m my own person! I’m Angler Bait and I’m stronger than that pathetic Fisher!”** The hollow shouted, the bait’s disguise falling away.

“Well, it’s definitely made from the same wood…” Mirai muttered. “Anatomy certainly matches… Copy-cat.”

 **“I’m stronger and better than Grand Fisher! And I’m going to prove it to you!”** And the hollow attacked. Ichigo dashed forward to block its clawed hand while Mirai jumped back, out of the way.

“Do you want the honors?” The girl asked, her cloak concealing her body language and weapon. Was the fan really her weapon? What about her zanpakuto?

“Please.” Ichigo grunted, pushing against the hollow and then backing away.

“Angler Bait.” Rukia read from the paper that her denreishinki printed out. “Taken over Grand Fisher’s territory since the slaying of the other hollow six years ago by Shinigami Nakatomi Tomo of Twelfth Division. Managed to evade Shinigami since then and continued Grand Fisher’s habits of eating spiritually strong humans.”

“Like I said, copy-cat.” Mirai commented but Ichigo wasn’t paying attention anymore. He attacked. Angler Bait dodged by jumping in the air and a new leg spawned in the place of the one Mirai had cut off. They exchanged blows, being about equal in strength.

“Why aren’t you helping?” Rukia asked Mirai while preparing to fire a kidou at the hollow.

“Ichigo doesn’t want us to interfere.” The girl replied. “While this thing isn’t the same than what killed Masaki-basan, it’s close enough. Ichigo may not blame himself for letting the hollow lure him and thus get the opportunity to kill Masaki-basan but right now his reiatsu is the one that lures hollows to him and this thing did attack his sisters. It’s battle for pride for him.”

Rukia paused. She stared at the blonde as the words rang in her mind.

“Rukia…” Ichigo spoke up, getting up from the ground where the hollow had pinned him previously. “Please don’t interfere. This is my fight. Just ensure that the girls get to safety with Kon, okay?”

The Shinigami girl ran off.

“Mirai… Stay back until I absolutely need help.” Was it wrong for him to ask Mirai to stay while he sent Rukia away? But Mirai had known his mother. She was close with Karin and Yuzu. She _understood_. Plus she had powers while something was going on with Rukia and her lack of recovering from the transferal.

“Very well. But I’ll be judging myself when the help is needed.”

 **“Stop ignoring me!”** The hollow screeched.

“Oh, you have my full attention, bastard.” Ichigo growled.

* * *

They fought across the cemetery. Gravestones were getting shattered in the hollows reckless attacks but it was strong. And fast. And annoyingly durable. Completely different class than the other hollows Ichigo had fought. And the hollow just. Wouldn’t. Shut. Up.

Worst thing was though when it someone gained information of what the Grand Fisher had done and just whom it had killed. And had the bait take Masaki’s form.

And Ichigo… he couldn’t strike. Even if he knew his mother was already safely in Soul Society thanks to Tomo-san, part of him was still the ten-year-old boy that found his mother’s body on top him and his best friend apologizing for something that was not her, but his fault. The sight of Kurosaki Masaki, corporeal and clear instead of hazy memories, stayed his hand.

“Step aside Ichigo.” Mirai’s voice rang clear. Mirai… she could do it. While Mirai knew Masaki and had cared for her, still had distance that Ichigo didn’t have and couldn’t afford.

“Mirai…”

“Let me do this.” The girl melted out of the shadows. “I don’t want to lose you to that thing. It’s a mere substitute after all.”

Rukia was somewhere near. He could just barely sense her. But the moment of distraction was enough for the hollow to attack again.

Mirai _moved_.

And then she was between them batting away the attack with her fan. Ichigo hissed at the hollow’s claws grazed him again.

“Ichigo, you are injured. Step aside.” The blonde repeated. Slightly shaking her hand from the blow it had received.

“Are you sure you can…?”

“Yes.” The girl flicked her right arm straight and then the metal fan in her hand _unraveled_ to reveal a sleek katana. The handle was wrapped in white and the guard was round with some sort of ripple pattern in it.

“That’s…”

“My zanpakuto yes. Currently in sealed state but I find it handy to disguise him.” Then she drew her arm back and turned in a way that had the katana vertically in front of her body, the tip pointing down and her left palm against the flat of the blade. “Distort, Sazanami.”

In the katana’s stead was a Chinese jian. Still white-wrapped handle but now the guard was golden in color and had intricate designs. And at the end of the hilt was a red tassel hanging.

“Just relax Ichigo, I’ll take care of this.” Mirai’s outline blurred in his eyes. Was it her ability or the blood loss that made it seem so?

* * *

Mirai did not escape the hollow unscathed either but she was in considerably better condition that Ichigo. Partly thanks to her cloak that concealed her body and hindered the claws, partly thanks to her own cooler head and whatever ability that her zanpakuto wielded. In the end the hollow escaped (though injured too) and left the two mock-shinigami bleeding on the ground.

“Ah… we lost.” Mirai smiled but it was fake smile.

“Ichigo! Kotobuki-san!” There was Rukia.

“Iiichigooo!” And that was Kon.

“Rukia… Thank you.” Ichigo said quietly. “Thank you for not interfering.”

“Honestly, you both…” The Shinigami girl huffed. “Thank you for surviving.”

* * *

What followed next was Rukia patching up their injuries (with Mirai protesting and trying to tell she’d be fine) and the pair coming clean in their knowledge.

“I’ve… I’ve known about things since I was ten or so.” Ichigo began. “After okaa-san died, it was Mirai’s mother that slayed Grand Fisher and escorted okaa-san to Soul Society.”

“Last we heard of her, she was living with her in-laws.” Mirai added.

“Your mother?” Rukia frowned. “A Shinigami? You said before…”

“Yes. Nakatomi Tomo, Ninth Seat of Twelfth Division. She is… a mother even if I was raised by the Kotobuki’s.”

“Anyways… Asagi was there for me afterwards and explained to me about the ghosts and hollows and Shinigami.”

“We later gained some spiritually aware friends and teachers who helped us more but the gist is that Ichigo isn’t as ignorant as we led you to believe at first.”

“But why keep it secret?” Rukia asked. “Why put up all the show for me?”

“Because you are a Shinigami. And one thing we learnt about the Shinigami is that they believe everything living underneath them. That the ‘priviledge’ of seeing and understanding the spiritual plane should be limited only to them.” Mirai cut in. “I’d experienced memory tampering once by a Shinigami and I didn’t want it to happen ever again.”

“The Shinigami are… proud souls.” Ichigo then said a bit slower. “And as long as I kept asking questions and limited my skills, we knew we’d be fine.”

“But then we found out you were a bit unusual for a Shinigami.” Mirai smiled. “We got attached. And I think you are trustworthy.”

“Being in the World of Living has definitely loosened you up.” Ichigo grinned. Rukia blinked at the change of mood. It was as if the incident just now hadn’t happened.

“Oh, I…”

“Let’s get back okay.” The orange-haired boy slid back into his body and got on his feet, grunting at the strain on his injuries.

“I’ll go to Tatsuki. She’ll want to know everything is okay.” Mirai added, wrapping her cloak a bit tighter and then disappearing once more.

“You are a good friend, Rukia. Don’t ever doubt that.” The blonde’s voice echoed from the forest.

* * *

It turned out that Kurosaki Isshin could give some good advice occasionally. Ichigo… appreciated the gesture even if the man’s avoidance of all things spiritual annoyed him.

_“It’s just that… The woman I fell in love with… was a woman who could die protecting her son. And don’t forget… You are the guy the woman that I loved gave her life to protect.”_

It was nice. And the advice about living was good too. But Ichigo wasn’t like Isshin believed him to be. He didn’t carry guilt over Masaki’s death. But he did have determination to become stronger in order to protect what was his. The strength to act and the strength to let go.

“Rukia, are you listening? Does it look like your Shinigami power is returning? Whether it is or not, please let me remain a Shinigami for a while longer. I want to become strong. More and more and more. Become strong, defend against hollows, for those who get targeted. Become strong and not stop moving forward! To live and help those who need it! Otherwise… I won’t be able to face okaa-san!”

It was raining. It was raining and Ichigo let the tears finally fall.

* * *

Next evening Mirai appeared on Ichigo’s windowsill. Rukia took a double take at the girl’s appearance.

“I usually don’t visit but…” The girl grinned. “I’m collecting my debt.”

“From…”

“From the mod-soul incident, right?” Ichigo asked, stepping into the room after a shower.

“Yup. I want two things. The first thing… I want wasabi peanuts from Urahara Shoten.” Mirai lifted one finger up, leaving Rukia gaping. “The second thing… I want Ichigo to have a free afternoon in a week. I’m going to have a kendo match with him.”

“I… Okay?” Rukia agreed hesitantly. “Sure. I’m in your debt after all.”

“Good.” And the girl was gone again.

“Does she always do that?”

“Disappearing you mean?” Ichigo clarified. At Rukia’s nod, he sighed. “Not really… And it’s not you that makes her uncomfortable.”

“Then who? Surely not your sisters? They seemed… aware.”

“Yes. Karin can see ghosts and fire a basic kidou while Yuzu has a good spiritual sense even if she can’t see.” It had been a difficult conversation last night with the girls about what had happened by the cemetery but it had soothed their worries eventually. “It’s oyaji.”

“Huh? But he… He seems so harmless.”

“Yeah. It’s because of the gigai he has. But it doesn’t change what he is and what he did.” Ichigo grit his teeth together. No matter how supportive Isshin tried to be, it didn’t change the fact that he’d tried to separate him and Mirai. And was generally useless when it came to hollows.

“You don’t have to tell me.”

“No, you deserve to know. It does concern you since you are staying under this roof.” Rukia was a Kuchiki. It made the situation a bit iffy. But Ichigo _trusted_ Rukia. It had been a startling revelation and realization to him, but he fully trusted Rukia just like he trusted Mirai and Tatsuki and Chad.

“That man downstairs is former Shinigami captain of the Tenth Division, Shiba Isshin.”

“Shiba?!” Rukia exclaimed quietly.

“Yes. I don’t know what happened to make him live as a human in the World of Living but I suspect falling in love with my mother had something to do with it.” Ichigo said ruefully. “As Mirai mentioned yesterday okaa-san living with her in-laws, she meant the Shiba Compound with oyaji’s niece and nephew.”

“So you are a Shiba?” Rukia asked, eyes wide.

“I’m very much a Kurosaki. It’s my mother’s family name and that’s what I’ve always used.”

“Ah… Well, it does explain…”

“Explain what?”

“You look very much like the former Lieutenant of Thirteenth Division, Shiba Kaien. He was… my mentor and friend.”

Ichigo blinked slowly, mulling over the information. It… did partially explain Rukia’s attachment to him. But it was also clear that she saw him as his own person which was good.

“Did he die?”

“Yes… It was… a day and situation very much like yesterday.” Rukia sat down on Ichigo’s bed next to the boy. “A hollow had killed several of our soldiers, including Kaien-dono’s wife, Miyako-dono. And… like Kotobuki-san explained to me yesterday, our captain explained to me that day it was a fight for pride.”

“And he didn’t survive.”

“No. The hollow possessed him and… our captain had always ill health so it fell to me to…” The Shinigami drew a shaky breath. “I killed him. I killed him and he said thank you. How could he… How could he think like that? How could he make me do that? Why couldn’t he let us _help_?” She broke down in tears. Ichigo remained still for a moment but leaned forward to wrap his arms around her.

“Why?” Was the anguished question she kept repeating over and over again. And Ichigo had no true answers to that.

* * *

 

In the morning Rukia had calmed down and life returned to the usual pace. Ichigo slayed hollows, Mirai hung around people on her own pace, Rukia bought wasabi peanuts for the other girl and Ichigo and Mirai had their kendo match.

Then was Don Kanonji show that was practically a farce. Ichigo and Mirai tag-teamed against the hollow that Kanonji created and kept cursing at the man’s stupidity and theatrics. But they handled it. And Kanonji got an educational lesson out of it.

Not that it helped in the aftermath at school.

“I can’t freaking believe this! Do you guys have any idea of what you’ve done?” Kagine-sensei shouted and reprimanded them. Tatsuki and Orihime managed to squirm out of trouble since they hadn’t done anything and Rukia managed to lay all blame on Ichigo’s feet. During her show the boys escaped.

“Honestly, I don’t get what the problem is.” Mirai spoke up. “It’s not like they were in our school uniforms. To outsiders they could’ve been just anyone, even from out of town. Moreover… why was I dragged in here since I didn’t even go to watch that thing?”

“Because wherever Kurosaki is causing trouble, you always follow after!”

Then Kagine noticed boys escaping through the window and Rukia and Mirai took their chance to disappear as well. Kagine’s shouts echoed throughout the school.

Ichigo grinned. Things were looking up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've considered making 'Art-fic' for this fic too, like I did for my Dream-verse of Detective Conan fics. Basically I'd post my art and background stuff here at AO3 too. Would you like that?


	16. Otoribashi Rojuro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teacher watches and wishes the best for his student.

**Created Life from Death 16  
Otoribashi Rojuro**

Rose wasn’t sure why he approached the girl for the first time in that park. Yes, she played very well. Yes, she had imbued reiatsu into the melody, thus attracting ghosts. And yes, it was all very strange but intriguing but _he_ wouldn’t have needed to interfere.

The song of that day something Rose hadn’t heard before. Though most of the girl’s songs were unknown to him. It made him wonder if they were simply something out of his comfort zone or something the girl made up on the spot. They did sound nice whenever she succeeded in playing the song from start to end.

The girl’s fingers cramped and she let out words that a girl of her age shouldn’t know. And the shoe print on the pavement as the result of a reiatsu-enhanced stomp gave an indication that it wasn’t the first time of the day that the song had been messed up.

“Well, at least you aren’t venting your anger on your violin…” Rose chuckled and was treated the amusing sight of the girl whirling around and falling down quite comically. With dignity, the girl got up again and questioned his presence. He answered truthfully and asked questions back. And when it seemed that she was visibly uncomfortable, Rose bid his goodbye and left.

* * *

They met again. And again. They got to know each other. Kotobuki Mirai, frequently called Asagi by her friend, Kurosaki Ichigo. Rose got to know Ichigo too. It was interesting how the two children could see ghosts and even Rose when he was outside a gigai. And it was alarming when Mirai admitted seeing hollows too. The question of her magic cloak intrigued Rose but he held back. Instead, he resolved to start teaching the two about reiatsu and its control.

He’d taught a year at Shin’ou back in the day. He could do it.

* * *

He... couldn’t do it. Or maybe he could. But only barely. Mirai had a good grasp of control, but she was terribly timid about actively using her reiatsu. (He needed to find out why.) Ichigo in the other hand… he had enormous reserves for his age and little to no control. He only barely could grasp the metaphorical edges of his power. (It was greatly easier once Yoruichi joined to teach the kids.)

In general, though, Rose really preferred playing music with Mirai to teaching about reiatsu to the kids. Mostly because the latter reminded him constantly about what he couldn’t have anymore and how people and organization that he’d trusted for decades, _centuries_ , had betrayed him.

But he helped the kids. For their own safety.

* * *

It was in October after Kurosaki Masaki’s demise that Rose got his first scare when it came to the kids. Mirai disappeared. It was raining and Ichigo ran to him and told the news. That Mirai had vanished and Ichigo needed his help in finding her since he couldn’t ask anyone else to help. Because of a kikashinki that Isshin had used on the two. Because now Ichigo was meant not to associate with Mirai at all because he shouldn’t remember her and that his sisters truly _didn’t remember_. And that Mirai had been terrified when they’d realized what had happened.

“Of course I help.” Rose remembered answering before they’d parted ways. Ichigo to south Karakura and Rose to North as there was more areas to be scoured.

He found the girl. In Yumizawa children’s park, underneath the slide, she was curled up tight and dozing off. Rose crouched down and woke her up.

“Gah!”

“Asagi-chan, you shouldn’t sleep in a place like this.” So alone, so vulnerable… Rose was attached and he didn’t want anything happening to the girl.

“Bara-san? How did you find me?” Mirai asked in bewilderment. Really now, Rose had taught her reiatsu control, of course he knew the feel of her reiatsu by now.

“Your friend Kanzo-iro asked me to help finding you.” And then a furry black head lifted up from between Mirai’s legs and arms. Yoruichi? Here? Why?

“This is Neko-san. He kept me company.”

“Is that so?” He decided to question the woman’s presence later but now the girl needed reassurance. And Rose needed to know how she actually was in the aftermath of everything. “Are you alright, Asagi-chan? Kanzo-iro told me what happened and about the kikashinki.”

He saw Yoruichi’s hackles rise and the next question came from her.

“Girl. Was this kikashinki use on yourself by a man named Isshin?”

The tears were both startling and welcome. Startling because Mirai rarely cried. Welcome because it meant that she would be bottling up her feeling of this event and she felt safe enough to let go of her control. And… Rose really didn’t like the picture that Mirai painted of her origins and the events that led up to her hiding so far away from her friends and family.

At Mirai’s mention of being a mere clone yet wanting to live her life and be happy, Rose drew her into an embrace.

“You have every right to live your life the way you wish to, Asagi-chan. And I’m sure Kanzo-iro-kun would agree with me.”

“I _know_ but…”

Then Yoruichi drew attention to the stiffness of Mirai’s gigai and the girl told that Nakatomi Tomo was the one to do maintenance for it. And that she had suppressor bracelets that she never took off.

Rose pushed it all aside for a while. It had been more important to get Mirai back home and to Ichigo.

* * *

A week later Yoruichi approached him. She’d been observing Mirai and Ichigo’s home lives and took note of their families and habits. She told him about the kidou inscribes in Mirai’s bracelets that the girl had finally agreed to remove for the lessons. That those bracelets not only suppressed her reiatsu from detection but also forced her to stay inside her gigai.

Rose really wanted to go back to Soul Society and _gut_ that scientist woman. Those actions – plus the systematic horror stories no matter how true – did not speak of protection. They spoke of distrust and possessiveness. Nakatomi obviously didn’t know anything of Mirai. She gave gifts but actually wasn’t there for her. Rose definitely agreed with the cat about Shinigami being incapable of raising human children. Because that’s what Ichigo and Mirai both essentially were. Human. Souls within containers. Mirai might’ve been created out of reiatsu and Ichigo was offspring of Shinigami and Quincy (yes, he knew what the boy’s mother had been), but they still were very much human in all ways that actually counted. Spiritually aware but still human and _alive_.

Thus Rose was glad when the ex-Onmitsukido commander decided to teach the kids to run. There was no one better.

* * *

When Mirai celebrated her eleventh birthday, Rose finally taught the kids Bakudou 1: Sai, and Hadou 1: Sho. It would take time for the kids to learn but they had time. And they really needed to get Ichigo’s reiatsu under control. Mirai’s waterballoon comparison was surprisingly apt and Rose really hoped that her allusion about bursting the balloon by stabbing would never come true.

Of course that hope was in vain.

* * *

Next few years were quite peaceful. Until Mirai came back from Golden Week holiday to Rome with an activated Shikai. Apparently, she’d had dreams and whispers from her zanpakuto for years already but she never spoke of them. Rose could relate. Connecting with a zanpakuto was a private and gradual process even if the final shikai release often happened on battlefield. The mass producing of shikai at academy had never sat well with him.

Rose sighed. Lisa – who had joined their small circle of Mirai’s acquaintances a while back – looked up from her manga.

“She is growing quite quickly.” The bespectacled woman observed.

“Yes… I miss the days when she was just a little girl that played violin at park.” The blonde muttered. Sharing new songs and practicing them with her had been fun. And his job at music store made it easy for him to get the note sheets.

“And now she has a shikai.”

“She is using time meditating to actually learn her zanpakuto’s abilities but yes. She did achieve a shikai. Probably the only thing that saved her life at Rome. Getting enough power to actually slay the hollow.”

“Do you know how she survived afterwards?” Lisa asked then. “She mentioned being mid air and being tired after releasing her swords but…”

“Do you think she would’ve passed out afterwards?”

“It’s possible. I’ve seen it happen on Shinigami once the adrenaline runs out. Even if they are uninjured, they are still exhausted.”

“…The only other thing she mentioned of the trip was a new friend she made… Kitsurubami…”

“Do you think they have something to do with it then?”

“Maybe…”

* * *

Mirai was fourteen. So young, both in human and Shinigami standards. Rose helped her to train her shikai. Once the first wobbly and uncontrolled releases were out of the way, the girl was grasping quickly her limits with both sealed and unsealed zanpakuto. And Rose was there to help her train with a live blade instead of kendo shinai or bokken. But she still wouldn’t let him see the actual abilities her sword granted.

“Shinigami are arrogant. They like to brag their abilities and explain them to their opponents in order to demonstrate their superiority. What they don’t understand is that explaining makes it easier to counter the abilities.” Mirai said. “So no, I’m not telling you. I’m challenging you to figure them out yourself.”

That… had been a hit right there… Rose grimaced. How many times had he explained his shikai abilities to his opponent in a spar or fight? Many. Too many times.

* * *

It was approximately a week after Mirai’s sixteenth birthday that Rose received an e-mail from Mirai. It had only one sentence in it.

_The water balloon burst._

Rose cursed. He needed to find out what exactly had happened. But since Mirai had only sent him a cryptic message instead of calling, it meant that she couldn’t tell the details yet due the situation.

But there was something else he could do.

* * *

It took a bit of investigating discreetly but he eventually found out with Lisa what had happened. The newly stationed Shinigami had given her powers to Ichigo and both the kids were laying low. Ichigo concealing his true skills and knowledge and Mirai staying out of sight of the Shinigami.

But eventually they managed to meet with the girl again. And explain her what they were going to teach her. And yes, Lisa was also helping because she was fond of the girl and found the girl’s crush on her adorable.

They were teaching how to conceal her zanpakuto inside an object that she could carry around without suspicion while inside in her gigai and thus also use her zanpakuto-strengthened item as a weapon while in gigai.

Mirai chose the fan she’d gotten as a birthday gift from Yoruichi. It was very carefully disguised metal fan that didn’t weight or sound any different from regular wooden one.

The process of introducing the fan and zanpakuto to each other was a slow one. Mirai spent the entire time in jinzen with Sazanami and the fan on her lap parallel to each other. Rose and Lisa observed the progress and they way the outlines of the two items wavered in turn.

After hours of work, Mirai finally opened her eyes to see the fan spiraling open into ribbons and wrapping around her zanpakuto and then being the one left. The girl gingerly grasped her fan and picked it up. She examined it from all sides before flicking it open with a single wrist movement.

Even from distance, Rose could feel that the fan was now fundamentally different even if it still looked the same.

“Arigatou gozaimasu, Bara-san, Shinbashi-san.” Mirai smiled as she let the fan unravel away and reveal the katana within.

“You’re welcome, Asagi-chan. Now, shall we review some kidou?”

“Sure.”

* * *

Overall, even with the Shinigami in town and following Ichigo things didn’t change that much. Ichigo kept the Kuchiki girl (and wasn’t that a shock, Kuchiki breaking the law) distracted and Mirai ran interference between the girl and rest of the humans and circumstances in the vicinity. She progressed in zanjutsu and kidou and Rose was incredibly proud of her.

She was his student. His first student and trusted friend.

And he would have her back regardless of her decisions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not completely satisfied with this chapter... but I hope you like this anyways. :)


	17. Urahara Kisuke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for suspicion, observation, confirmation and confrontation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally here!  
> I'm not completely satisfied with this and I felt like I probably should've written more but... Well, this was a good point to cut this. I hope you enjoy.

**Created Life from Death 17  
Urahara Kisuke**

Urahara Kisuke had always been at least peripherally aware of Kotobuki Mirai even if he didn’t know the particulars.

The first time he saw the girl, it was in the aftermath of Kurosaki Masaki’s death. She was shielding Kurosaki Ichigo from the rain next to the woman’s body. Kisuke couldn’t see the girl’s face but the shaking shoulders told all.

He kept watch in the case of other Hollows and called the police and ambulance.

* * *

Next remarkable event was the strange not-his-feelings.

_Scaredhelpalonealonedon’tleavemealonemyfaultI’msorryhelphelphelp **Someonepleasehelp** …_

Yoruichi never explained it to him when she came back, just told him not to worry. That it was all solved. She seemed guilty but refused to broach the topic again. Kisuke was forced to push the issue aside.

And possibly figure out why Isshin had wanted that kikashinki…

* * *

The first time Kisuke met Mirai was also the first time he officially met Ichigo. They actually came to his shop, apparently all the way from Karakura Honchou. They perused the candy and snack selection according to the list they had with their friend Arisawa Tatsuki. The children chatted this and that and Ichigo and Mirai had a playful argument whether or not to buy wasabi peanuts.

Then Mirai jumped and mis-stepped the landing. And Tatsuki noticed the nervousness of the girl. Kisuke blinked slowly. That was indeed correct. How curious. And…

Light slanting through the windows caught on the metal of Mirai bracelet as she lifted a hand to wave her friend’s concerns away. Kisuke’s eyes widened and, in a moment, he was on his feet and next to the children, with his paper fan through the loop of the bracelet and keeping Mirai’s hand aloft. He noted the inscribes inside the bracelet even though from the current angle he couldn’t see what they were for. But by having the fan inside the circle of the scribes, he could feel the tremor of the girl’s reiatsu even though he couldn’t feel the reiatsu itself.

Suppressants.

“May I… take a closer look at this?” He asked. Something uncomfortable was churning his gut and he really wanted to know what was going with that girl because these bracelets were definitely Soul Society made even if he didn’t recognize the creator. (He could determine it was not Kurotsuchi however. If only because the girl was actually here and not on a dissection table)

“No, you may not, tenchou-san.” The girl responded with a frown, her grey eyes narrowed.

Wait, grey…

A stray thought entered Kisuke’s mind and he was reminded of the mess of emotions that collided with him years ago. Could it possibly be something like…

He took a step back with a smile and gave space for the children. Ichigo stepped protectively in front of the girl and told they were done and their purchases were to be rung into the register.

“You all are welcome to visit again if you have time.” Kisuke called after the children.

“Maybe!” Mirai called back. And purposefully let the light hit the bracelet again. Kisuke let out a chuckle before making a snap decision. What he’d seen of the interactions between the children, they were bound to talk… Kisuke snagged his cloak and exited the shop once Ichigo’s reiatsu signal turned around the corner.

* * *

Tatsuki asked the question Kisuke had suspected but had not wanted to be asked.

_“Mirai, was that your father?”_

The reasonings followed that question then, dropping hints of what had been going on outside Kisuke’s sight.

The only other person in entire Karakura with blond hair and grey eyes…

Neko-san is no normal cat…

Running around with blonde hair even after dying it…

And when Mirai and Ichigo explained the spiritual world to Tatsuki, Kisuke resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. Isshin obviously knew nothing of Ichigo’s knowledge. And to think that Yoruichi had been teaching and in general known about everything while keeping it all from Kisuke.

This would require some careful investigation. Starting with the origins of one Kotobuki Mirai.

* * *

 

It took time. Naturally as Kisuke did have other things to than just investigate (which could almost be labelled as stalking) one little girl. And for one, he also needed to make sure that Yoruichi wasn’t with them. The woman knew him too well and still easily surpassed him in terms of stealth and espionage. Which also included spotting potential observers.

During the next few years Kisuke learnt many things about the girl.

He learnt about her human family which outwardly was completely normal Japanese family of three. Both parents worked and some household roles were swapped with Kenji doing most cooking and Dina often working also on weekend nights due theater performances. Mirai went to school and interacted with pupils there but mostly hung around Ichigo. The pair had some mean reputation.

He learnt about Nakatomi Tomo, his former Ninth Seat (still was a Ninth Seat), who visited Mirai, was her creator and the contributor of the other half of girl’s DNA. He remembered the woman. Not that well but he did remember her enjoying research and had some brilliant ideas even if she tended to frequently fade to the background. But… even though it had been almost hundred years since he’d last seen her, Kisuke doubted she was actually capable of creating a living, breathing _being_.

Something was amiss.

Kisuke learnt that Isshin did not know that Ichigo and Mirai were friends. Which was strange since the girl had been present when Masaki died, had been _walking home_ with Ichigo and Masaki when the attack happened. So something must’ve happened… but he was definitely not asking Isshin since that would only alert the man that something was amiss and Kisuke really didn’t want to attract more attention on Mirai. She was his daughter! Concrete proof be damned, he would not put her in anymore danger, even from a fellow exile.

Huh? Protective already?

Kisuke learnt about the various Visored orbiting around the kids. About Muguruma Kensei at Kotobuki dojo. About Otoribashi Rojuro who taught reiatsu control and kidou for the kids and later zanjutsu once Mirai’s zanpakuto manifested. About Yadomaru Lisa who caused Mirai’s cheeks redden and the girl occasionally stammer. About Kuna Mashiro who flitted in and out and mostly just bugged Kensei but had been dubbed Kamen Yaiba anyways and where had that name come from? About the man Mirai had met in Rome and who definitely was Hirako Shinji.

The scientist sighed and ran and hand through his hair before placing his hat back on. He turned to look at the black cat lounging on one of the cushions in the room. Yoruichi’s ears flicked in his direction and the sway of her tail slowed down a smidge.

“When were you going to tell me about Mirai?” The man asked.

The tail froze. Then it swayed some more before the cat sat up and turned to face him.

“Not until she was comfortable with the matter herself.” His friend replied. “She… has an unfortunate but healthy fear of Shinigami and a pair of stable parents already. She wanted to stall. But I guess you’ve known for a while.”

“A couple of years. Since she came to my shop with two of her friends.” Kisuke stated. “Can you then tell me where her fear stems from?”

“Two sources.” Yoruichi said gravely and Kisuke got a feeling he really wasn’t going to like this.

“Tell me.”

“Nakatomi Tomo and Kurosaki Isshin.”

He really didn’t like this.

* * *

Mere weeks after the conversation with Yoruichi, Kisuke needed to redirect his attention. To the Shinigami stationed in Karakura, her powerless state and the opportunity it presented. To Ichigo’s new duties and the way the boy acted regards of skill. To Mirai’s avoidance of the boy and frequent patrolling around Karakura whilst out of her gigai and concealed by one of Kisuke’s own cloaks.

He actually saw her thrice during those weeks. First when she was hanging around the shoten when Kuchiki Rukia bought for more supplies.

“Do take care, Kuchiki-san!” Kisuke grinned as the female Shinigami was leaving. “Please come back…” The familiar black cloak fluttered in the wind on top of a building diagonally across his shop but was soon gone when Rukia turned around to look. “…soon.”

“Was there something?” The short girl frowned when she turned back around. Kisuke just flapped open his fan to cover the bottom of his face.

“Nope. Not a  _thing_.” He said cheerily. If the tone was sharper than normal and the look in his eyes in direct clash with the general demeanor, Rukia didn’t notice.

Mirai wasn’t a some _thing_. She was some _one_.

The second time was a couple of days after Masaki’s death anniversary. Kisuke happened to glimpse Mirai on patrol while Ichigo was recuperating from his wounds. What Rukia said after stopping by for supplies and wasabi peanuts, that they’d run into some troublesome hollow. Kisuke hoped it wasn’t the Grand Fisher. Nevertheless, his daughter – he was still reeling about the fact – was patrolling and slicing and dicing some minor hollows with something that looked like a metal fan while still inside her gigai. Huh, had someone shown her how to conceal her zanpakuto then? Handy.

The third time he saw her was during the Don Kanonji fiasco. Ichigo did good work with educating the man but Kisuke couldn’t help but shake his head at Mirai antics. And worry about the fact that the newly formed hollow could’ve easily gotten a swipe at her.

Then they finally met face to face. Though Kisuke wished it had been in different circumstances.

* * *

It was a sweltering July day, less than a week from Don Kanonji show. Kisuke had been minding the store, Tessai had been running errands with the kids, Yoruichi was actually sunning herself on the porch…

The not-his feelings slammed onto him full-force and without warning. Distress, panic… And they weren’t easing up, like last time.

“Kisuke?” Yoruichi was there. Kisuke blinked and found himself lying on the floor or the shoten between the shelves. A jar of candy was broken in front of him, the contents scattered. What had happened? Had he really collapsed? “Kisuke, are you alright?”

“I… She is panicking.” He drew a deep breath and tried to push Mirai’s distress away so he’d be able to think clearly. Back when he’d confronted Yoruichi about the girl’s existence, she’d explained the parent bond that had caused him to experience the not-his feelings so he was aware this time what was happening. And since he had acknowledged the girl, the clarity of her feelings was much, much greater, thus making it harder for him to concentrate. “She… She can’t _breathe_ …”

“I’ll find her.” The cat promised and hesitated a moment. “…Follow me if you’re able.”

And she was gone. Kisuke got on his knees and took support from the nearby shelf before standing up. He was bad with feelings and expressing himself. He could easily lie to himself about his own feelings. Thus the rawness of Mirai’s panic shook him so much. He hadn’t felt things like this… For a century or more.

* * *

Eventually Kisuke did follow Yoruichi. The cat left a trail for him and led him to Mirai, Ichigo and Rukia. Actually… Two Mirai’s. Her gigai lying on the ground and the girl’s spiritual form on Ichigo’s arms, dressed in simple t-shirt and capris. The girl had buried her face against her friend’s chest and was shaking. The onslaught of emotions was gone but Kisuke was still reeling in the aftershocks. He took in the scene before him and noted Rukia wearing a gokon tekkou and Yoruichi poking the bracelets that Kisuke had seen Mirai wearing.

“What happened?”

“Gigai malfunction.” Yoruichi replied. “Mirai-chan collapsed and couldn’t get out on her own. The reiatsu suppressors prevented that. Ichigo removed the suppressors and had Kuchiki push her out of the gigai.”

The scientist crouched down and picked one of the bracelets. Once seeing the inscribes within, he scowled heavily. Had Nakatomi really crafted these? What had the woman been thinking?

“Urahara… Kotobuki-san’s gigai…” Rukia spoke up.

”Don’t worry, Kuchiki-san. I’ll inspect it myself.” The man stated and used his cane to turn the gigai on its back. It was still dressed in school uniform and its black hair was spilling all over the concrete. Eyes were still open and terrified look remained on its face. Kisuke ran a hand over the face, closing the eyes and smoothing over the features, before picking it up. “Let’s go back to the Shoten. We can talk more there.”

Ichigo, who’d remained silent during the entire situation and concentrated on soothing Mirai, nodded and gathered the girl on his arms. Behind him, Rukia picked the fallen bookbags and thus began the quiet trek across town.

* * *

Kisuke rolled back on his heels. Mirai’s gigai laid on the floor of one of the bedrooms in the back of shouten. What a quick inspection showed him, was what he’d suspected already. The gigai had been stretched too thin. The maintenance done was great considering the circumstances and Mirai’s lack of experience but honestly… She should’ve gotten a new gigai at least two years ago when she manifested her shikai. But preferably she should’ve gotten a new one five years ago when her first big growth spurt was over and the next one up-coming.

Anyways, as a result, the gigai had simply failed on her and due the general restrictive capabilities of those fake bodies, Mirai was unable to breath when the lungs stopped working. According to Ichigo’s story, the girl had simply tilted forward and stopped moving aside from her facial expressions.

Kisuke sighed. No wonder the girl was shaken. And with her muscles not working, she was unable to take off her reiatsu suppressors that kept her inside the gigai.

The scientist stood up and exited the room, making his way to the sitting room where the trio was quietly drinking tea that Tessai had made for them. When entering, Rukia and Ichigo both looked up at him.

“I’ll be making a new gigai for you, Kotobuki-san. Free of charge.” Mirai nodded but kept her gaze on her tea cup, one hand tugging on her blond hair. The color suited her better than the black he’d previously seen.

“What was wrong with her previous one?” Ichigo asked. “What exactly… happened?”

Ho, he was surprisingly mellow here. Probably grounding Mirai in process. Kisuke had expected a bit more brash demands like when they actually met face to face last time with the mod-soul mess and all.

“It stopped working. Kotobuki-san got disconnected from both voluntary and involuntary musculature. Thus rendered unable to move and breathe.” Thankfully, it didn’t affect her heart but he rather not mentioned that to them.

“But she could just use Soumafixers…” Rukia frowned but stopped when the shopkeeper shook his head.

“No, this is not the case of gigai falling out of sync. In this case the gigai was… stretched too thin. Kotobuki-san, how long have you had this gigai?”

Mirai looked up at him but glanced away then. Kisuke noted that she was getting some color back on her cheeks since the scare.

“I’m not sure but I think Tomo-san gave a new one when I was five or six…”

“About ten years then.”

“Yes.” The girl nodded.

Well, that was better than he feared. At least she didn’t have the same gigai since infancy.

Yoruichi approached the girl and jumped on her lap, settling there. Mirai began absent-mindedly petting her. Next to her Ichigo was faintly scowling at everything and Rukia seeming faintly uncomfortable with the situation whilst glancing between Mirai and Kisuke. Ah, she was going to…

“Umm… Urahara, are you and Kotobuki-san… related somehow?”

Ichigo’s shoulders tensed and the movement of Mirai’s hand stuttered.

“She is my daughter.”

Cue surprised faces from all of them though from faintly different reasons.

“Kisuke…” Yoruichi sighed in exasperation.

“Neko-san, did you…” Mirai began with a broken voice.

“No, I did not tell him.” The cat protested. “I wouldn’t break your trust like that, Mirai-chan.”

“I figured it out on my own a few years ago.” Kisuke added. “And asked Yoruichi-san for confirmation two months ago.”

Mirai made a keening noise at the back of her throat and Ichigo drew her into a sideways hug. Rukia seemed even more uncomfortable.

“Don’t tell anyone, Rukia. She doesn’t need people knowing.” The orange-head said.

“Of course. This isn’t my secret to tell. You can trust me.” The Kuchiki girl nodded vigorously.

Kisuke sat down at the table, opposite Mirai, and reached a hand across the table.

“Kotobuki-, Mirai-chan, do you think we can stop hiding from each other?”

“I… Yes.” The girl choked out, a hand quickly shooting out to grasp Kisuke’s. “Please… I… I want to get to know you too.”

* * *

 

Naturally, not everything got resolved at once and other matters required their attention too. But with Mirai temporally without an available gigai, she was spending time at shouten. Mostly she was working with assignments from school but sometimes she wandered to wherever Kisuke happened to be and sit by him as he worked.

“Kanzo-iro-kun has told me that someone has been killing hollows before they get to the scene.” Mirai spoke one morning.

“Yes… Yoruichi-san mentioned something similar. On the good news though, your new gigai is almost done. You can take it on a spin tomorrow. You said your exam results and class rankings will be out then?”

“Yes, Thankfully I managed to attend all the exams before the… collapse.” Mirai fidgeted on the stool she had perched on. Kisuke smiled at her. Interactions weren’t easy but… they were getting there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally I had Kisuke finding out about their connection only when the gigai malfunction happened. But then I was writing the scene with Mirai, Ichigo and Tatsuki shopping and... Kisuke is curious as hell and he is not aboe eavesdropping. So... plans changed.
> 
> Next chapter, Exam results, Hollow Bait and powers awakening.


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